The Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) has announced its weekly awards following the sixth week of the 2019 field hockey season. Mary Washington senior forward Lauren Hopkins earned CAC Offensive Player of the Week accolades, while York senior goalkeeper Sam Keating claimed CAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Lauren Hopkins - Mary Washington
Mary Washington senior forward Lauren Hopkins continued her scoring hot streak this week in a pair of UMW victories. She scored a pair of goals and assisted on another as the Eagles topped Roanoke, 4-3, and then scored two more in a 5-3 win over Randolph-Macon. On Monday, she became just the third player in program history to surpass the 50-goal plateau, and has scored 10 goals in UMW's past seven games.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sam Keating - York (Pa.)
York senior goalkeeper Sam Keating had a great week for the Spartans as York went 1-1. In Wednesday's 3-1 win at Juniata, Keating was outstanding as she recorded eight saves and allowed just one goal late in the game to power the Spartans to victory. Keating was just over 2:13 away from picking up her second straight shutout. In Saturday's game against Montclair, Keating recorded four saves in 80 minutes in notching the shutout as the Spartans lost in the shootout. For the week, Keating allowed one goal in 140 minutes of action while she recorded 12 saves. For the season, Keating has played 215 minutes in goal, allowed three goals and recorded 20 saves. She has a 0.84 goals against average and a .870 save percentage. Keating missed the first half of the season due to illness but has made an impact on the Spartans in her return. She is 2-1 in her three starts for York.
HONORABLE MENTION
OFFENSE: Meghan Jolikko (SAL), Hannah Huffman (YCP), Sarah Mueller (CNU), Kelly Emge (SMC)
DEFENSE: Bailey Miller (CNU)
LEAGUE NOTES
Sarah Mueller registered the first hat-trick by a Christopher Newport Captain since 2017 when she scored three times in the first half against Virginia Wesleyan on October 1. During the game, she capitalized on a penalty stroke to open the scoring before converting on a pair of penalty corners. With that performance, she became just the sixth Captain to score three goals in the first half of a game after registering all of her strikes in the first 27 minutes of regulation. Additionally, she became the fifth player to record a hat-trick in her first season with the program and the first to do so since 2011....Bailey Miller played all 120 minutes while anchoring the back line during a pair of outings with the Captains. She helped lead a defense that surrendered only a single shot during a victory over Virginia Wesleyan on October 1. The senior also contributed a point in her third straight appearance after assisting on a first-half goal against the Marlins...Salisbury senior forward/midfielder Meghan Jolikko scored the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter of No. 3 Salisbury's 1-0 win on Wednesday over the Catholic Cardinals on the road...York freshman Hannah Huffman had another big game in the Spartans' 3-1 win on Wednesday at Juniata. Huffman scored York's first two goals in their victory in Huntingdon. She scored her two goals on just three shots in leading York to the win. Huffman is now second on the team in goals scored with four while she also has ten points. She is one of two Spartans who are in double figures in scoring for the year...Kelly Emge recorded two goals for a total of four points to lead St. Mary's to a 5-0 win over Neumann on Saturday (Oct. 5). Her four points led the team while she also tallied the game-winning goal against the Knights. The Seahawks improved to 10-0 with the victory.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Sept. 2: OFF: Mauri Ware (CNU), DEF: Jillian Hughes (SAL)
Sept. 9: OFF: McKenzie Mitchell (SAL), DEF: Marcella Sabbagh (CNU)
Sept. 16: OFF: Celina Kaufman (SMC), DEF: Sophie Carlson (SMC)
Sept. 23: OFF: Meghan Ronan (SMC), DEF: Olivia Davis (CNU)
Sept. 30: OFF: McKenzie Mitchell (SAL), DEF: Kelbey Egerland (SMC)
Oct. 7: OFF: Lauren Hopkins (UMW), DEF: Sam Keating (YCP)