Jarosz and Verstraete Claim Player of the Week Honors
MAC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Leonie Verstraete, Longwood
Forward, Senior, Utretcht, Netherlands
Verstraete scored twice in this past Thursday's 3-0 win against UC Davis, sinking her first goal near the end of the first half and her second shortly after halftime to send the Lancers to what was then their second win of the season. It was her sixth career multi-goal game and came during a week in which she led Longwood's offense by taking 16 of the team's 33 shots, including 10 on goal.
The two-goal week moved Verstraete to the top of the MAC leaderboards in goals per game (0.75) and shots per game (6.50) and helped move Longwood to the top of the MAC standings in scoring margin (+0.96).
MAC Field Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Annette Jarosz, Appalachian State
Midfielder, Sophomore, Elkridge, Md. (Howard)
The sophomore's defensive save in the first overtime against Davidson saved the game for Appalachian State. The Mountaineers went on to win in double overtime, marking the second-straight overtime victory for the Black and Gold. Jarosz also played every minute of both games, totaling over 150 minutes. Jarosz also served as the core of the Mountaineers' defense this weekend, helping allow only a pair of goals in each contest.
Other Field Hockey Nominees
Jessica Apelt, Kent State
Forward, Senior, Hilliard, Ohio (Hilliard Darby)
An instrumental player in the Kent State attack, senior Jessica Apelt recorded 10/10 shots on goal, scoring 2 goals for the Blue and Gold. The Hilliard, Ohio native attacked with speed and confidence throughout the week, earning key penalty corners. Apelt exploded offensively to end the weekend against Temple, scoring 2 goals in the second half for the Flashes. Apelt recorded the tying goal unassisted against the Owls early in the second period. She went on to add the final goal of the game to extend the Kent State lead to 6-2, also unassisted.
Veerle Van Heertum, Appalachian State
Midfielder, Sophomore, Valkenswaard, Netherlands (SG Weredi)
Van Heertum's late-game heroics helped propel the Mountaineers to a 3-2 win in double overtime over Davidson. The sophomore scored the game-tying goal with just over three minutes remaining in the game to send the contest to overtime. In overtime, Van Heertum notched the golden goal in the second overtime period. The midfielder finished Friday's game with six shots, four shots on target and a pair of scores. She was also instrumental in flipping the momentum on Friday, where the Mountaineers outshot Davidson 13-5 in the second half after just one shot in the first half. On Sunday, Van Heertum recorded a pair of shots, one of which was on net.
Katie Wyman, Longwood
Goalkeeper, Redshirt Junior, Havertown, Pa.
Wyman led Longwood to back-to-back wins and a 3-1 start to the season this past week, picking up her first shutout of the season in a 3-0 win against UC Davis Thursday and following with a one-goal overtime victory Sunday against La Salle. Wyman dispatched five of the seven shots she faced in those games, racking up three saves in Thursday's shutout and two more in the 2-1 win against La Salle. The lone goal La Salle scored snapped a 114-minute scoreless streak for Wyman, who kept No. 7 Virginia off the board over the final five minutes of a 2-0 loss the week prior, shut out UC Davis and then blanked La Salle for the first 38 minutes Sunday.
On the season, Wyman boasts a MAC-leading 1.00 goals against average and a .857 save percentage while also ranking among the league's top three in saves per game (6.00). With her in net, Longwood leads the conference in goals against average (1.28) and scoring margin (+0.96).
Laila Richter, Kent State
Back, Junior, Berlin, Germany (Beethoven Oberschule)
Laila Richter has been a point of defensive stability and a spark offensively for Kent State, playing 202 minutes on the week and the full 70 minutes against Temple. Despite a tough loss to No. 5 Penn State, Richter was instrumental in the backfield, creating key turnovers and making tackles for the Flashes. As a back, the Berlin, Germany native exploded offensively against Temple, creating 75% of the team's offense. Down 2-0 heading into the second period, Richter helped shift the momentum, picking up an assist on Kent State's first of 6 second half goals. On a penalty corner, Richter gathered the ball off the insertion and passed it back to her teammate at the corner of the cage for a goal. Richter went on to add a crucial insurance goal on a penalty corner to extend the Flashes' lead to 4-2. Earlier in the week, the junior back also tallied a goal against No. 12 Northwestern on a penalty corner in the 6th minute of play.
