Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Alice O'Hagan, Central Michigan
Midfielder, Freshman, West Clandon, Surrey, England (Reed's School)
Freshman Alice O'Hagan burst onto the scene in Central Michigan's opening weekend, scoring 3 goals to lead the Chippewas to a sweep of Colgate and Saint Louis. In a 4-1 win over the Raiders on Friday, O'Hagan gave CMU an early 1-0 lead, putting her first collegiate shot in net. On Monday, O'Hagan scored the bookend goals of a 3-0 victory over the Billikens. She scored early, just 2:26 into the contest, on a hard shot that deflected in off a SLU defender. O'Hagan would score again in the third period, taking a short crossing pass from Taryn Damm and banging it home to put the finishing touches on CMU's first 2-0 start since the 2013 season.
Field Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Rachel Gaines, Appalachian State
Goalkeeper, Senior, Kettering, Ohio (Kettering Fairmont)
Senior goalkeeper Rachel Gaines nailed down back-to-back shutouts for Appalachian over the weekend. Gaines made nine total saves between two victories against Big East opponents. In Friday's contest, Gaines made two decisive saves to help App State secure a 3-0 win. On Sunday, Gaines made seven stops, including five in the third period, to blank Georgetown 1-0 on the road. The back-to-back shutouts also marked the first time App State posted consecutive shutouts since Gaines repeated the feat with three-straight shutouts in 2017. Sunday's 1-0 win over Georgetown was Appalachian's first over the Hoyas since 2014.
Other Nominees
Katie Wyman, Longwood
Goalkeeper, Redshirt Senior, Havertown, Pa. (Haverford)
A two time All-MAC performer, redshirt senior Katie Wyman started the final season of her standout career strong. Wyman made 12 saves in Longwood's season opener against a talented Monmouth offense. The following game of a back-to-back slate, Wyman shut down LIU to record her 10th career shutout in a 4-0 victory. She stopped nine shots in the shutout, running her opening-weekend total to 21 saves for the Lancers.
Abigail Ebersole, Central Michigan
Goalkeeper, Senior, Duncannon, Pa. (Susquenita)
Senior goalkeeper Abigail Ebersole backstopped a defense that allowed just 1 goal in opening weekend play, as Central Michigan knocked off Colgate and Saint Louis at home to start 2-0 for the first time since the 2013 season. Ebersole played the final three periods of each game, including against Saint Louis when she made two saves and helped earn a shutout for CMU.
Ashley Bonetz , Kent State
Back, Junior, Douglassville, Pa.
Junior Ashley Bonetz led the defense in two strong efforts this weekend at the back position. Bonetz and the defense allowed Kent State to outshoot both opponents this week, including Big Ten opponent Michigan State. Kent State limited St. Francis to only six shot attempts and only five shots on target to the Flashes’ 20. St. Bonetz and the Flashes’ held Michigan State to a single goal in six shots and four corners. The junior also had a goal in the 5-2 victory of St. Francis.
Isabelle Perese, Miami
Goalkeeper, Freshman, Worthington, Ohio (Thomas Worthington)
Freshman goalkeeper Isabelle Perese made her first collegiate start this week against a ranked-opponent in No. 22 Albany and played the entire 60 minutes. Perese made two spectacular saves, keeping the game scoreless into halftime, and yielded no full-strength goals during the contest.
Grace Chavez, Ball State
Junior, Norfolk, Va./Matthew Fontaine
Chavez had an impressive defensive performance against the No. 19 team in the country, Rutgers Saturday afternoon in the Cardinals season opener. The junior goal keeper led Ball State defensively with five saves over the Scarlet Knights.
Luna Lopez, Longwood
Midfielder, Sophomore, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
Reigning MAC Freshman of the Year Luna Lopez started right where she left off from a season ago, as she recorded a goal and an assist across two games this weekend for Longwood. After recording an assist in the season opener against Monmouth, Lopez fired home her first goal of the young season in a 4-0 win over LIU. The sophomore's three opening-weekend points were a team high for the Lancers.
Luisa Knapp , Kent State
Forward, Sophomore, BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN, GERMANY
Sophomore Luisa Knapp led Kent State’s offensive for the Flashes’ opening weekend. She scored two goals over the weekend- both against St. Francis in the 5-2 victory. She led the team with four total shots against the Red Flash, while adding a shot against Michigan State. Through two games, Knapp has five shots, three of which are on goal.
Meghan Smart, Appalachian State
Forward/Midfielder, Junior, Haddonfield, N.J. (Haddonfield Memorial)
Junior Meghan Smart notched three goals over the weekend on the road against Big East opponents to help lead App State to a 2-0 start. Smart scored three of App State's four goals over the weekend, including both game's game-winning strike. Smart leads the Mountaineers in goals (three), points (six), and shots on goal (five). The junior also combined to score three goals in App State's two preseason games against Davidson and Liberty. Smart's goalscoring prowess also led the Mountaineers to their first win over Georgetown since 2014.
Kendall Ballard, Ohio University
Midfielder, Redshirt Senior, Charlottesville, Va. (Charlottesville)
Kendall made an immediate impact in her first games back from being out all last season with an injury. She scored the first goal of the season, one that helped mount a team comeback from down 2-0 against Drexel.
Sierra Jefferson, Ball State
Forward, Redshirt Junior, Bethlehem, Penn. (Freedom)
Jefferson lifted the Cardinals past Davidson on opening weekend after scoring the lone goal of the game in the second frame for Ball State. The goal went straight up the middle of Davidson's goalie's leg off of the assist from teammate Abby Ferenczy. Jefferson has been an offensive threat for the Cardinals throughout her career and Sunday's game was no different as she helped the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over . Jefferson led the Cardinals in shots yesterday against Davidson with four.
