Hickey earns NEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for first time
Conte named NEC Defensive Player of the Week for first time
Duo also collects NEC Prime Performer status along with Stark
NEC Field Hockey Weekly Report
Hickey earns NEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time after a seven point week for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Brian Foley) |
EASTON, Mass. (September 26, 2023) – Stonehill College collected two of the three major Northeast Conference weekly honors and picked up three NEC Prime Performer recognitions to highlight a solid weekend trip to North Carolina over the weekend, earning the team's first win of the season in the process.
Senior All-American Raegan Hickey was named the NEC's Offensive Player of the Week for the first time, while junior goalkeeper Shannon Conte earned the NEC's Defensive Player of the Week for the first time as the duo led Stonehill to a 1-1 week, including a 5-0 victory at Queens University of Charlotte as part of a two-game swing through North Carolina. The duo was also named NEC Prime Performers along with freshman forward Tyra Stark.
Hickey totaled seven points with three goals and an assist over the two games for Stonehill. She posted two goals and an assist for five points in Friday's 5-0 win at Queens, netting the Skyhawks second goal over the first six minutes of the game to grab an early lead and then scoring 3:57 into the second half to extend the lead to three goals before dishing an assist on classmate Claudia Crowe's marker for a 4-0 lead early in the fourth quarter. Hickey capped her weekend by knotting Sunday's matchup at Davidson College 1:54 into the second half at a goal apiece.
Hickey, who has at least a goal in three of the last four games and five total in that span, leads the NEC in scoring with 14 points, having scored a Conference-leading six goals to go with two assists (5th NEC) through Stonehill's first nine games. She earned NEC Prime Performer status for the second time this season and fourth time in her career overall.
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Stark |
Hickey, named a National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) and Synapse Sports Division II All-American for Stonehill in 2021, has started 41 of 42 games played over her Stonehill career. She has totaled 19 goals and 13 assists for 51 career points, netting two gamewinning goals. Hickey, a three-time Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week in 2021 that earned All-NE10 first team and All-Rookie Team honors, finished eighth among NE10 scoring leaders with her team-high 29 points and third in assists with her team-best ten, while adding nine goals (15th NE10). She has already matched her goal total from the Skyhawks inaugural NCAA Division I season in 2022, eclipsing her 2022 point total (11).
Conte averaged 7.5 saves per game with a 1.55 goals against average and .833 save percentage over Stonehill's two games last week to earn NEC Defensive Player of the Week and Prime Performer accolades for the first time. She posted her first career shutout, and the Skyhawks first shutout at the NCAA Division I level, with two saves in Friday's 5-0 win at Queens. Conte followed that up with her fourth double-figure save total of the season at Davidson on Sunday, keeping Stonehill within striking distance with 13 stops.
Conte has played all but nine minutes in goal for Stonehill this season and leads the NEC with 84 saves, averaging 9.33 per game (2nd NEC), having posted a 3.86 goals against average (6th) and .706 save percentage (3rd) in 544:30 over nine games. She is one of four NEC goalkeepers with a shutout this season and her saves per game average ranks third nationally. Conte made a season-high 14 saves against California on September 9, having posted a career-high 18 stops at Fairfield University in 2022.
Conte earns NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time after notching the first shutout of her career at Quees on Friday (PHOTO BY Brian Foley) |
Conte, an All-NEC second team selection in 2022, has started all 24 games over the last two seasons, with 25 games played in her career overall, and totaled 253 saves – an average of 10.12 saves per game in her career. She has posted a 3.95 goals against average and .721 save percentage in 1,488:43. Conte led the NEC with 10.87 saves per game in 2022, ranking fourth with a .724 save percentage.
Stark rounds out Stonehill's weekly award winners with NEC Prime Performer status for the first time. She registered the first four points of her collegiate career in Friday's win, totaling a goal and two assists. Her first collegiate goal opened the scoring in the 5-0 win off a penalty corner 2:54 into the game. Stark added the first two assists of her collegiate career in the second half as the Skyhawks sealed the win.
Stonehill (1-8, 0-0 NEC) returns to action on Friday, when it opens its Northeast Conference schedule by hosting Fairfield University for its first home game of the season at W.B. Mason Stadium at 1 p.m., to open Family Weekend at the College which will be officially kicking off its 75th Anniversary Jubilee Celebration.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
