Stony Brook's Kaitlin Leggio (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) has been named America East Player of the Week, while Erica Baumgartner (Silver Spring, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) of Boston University garners the first Rookie of the Week award of her career. New Hampshire's Natalie Jones (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) has also been named America East Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. The awards were announced Monday (March 19).
The sophomore midfielder was instrumental in the Seawolves 2-0 week as they improved to 5-1, marking their best start in program history. She recorded three goals and added a pair of assists in the 12-6 win against Monmouth. In the victory at Sacred Heart, the Bay Shore, N.Y. native found the back of the cage twice and dished three assists, including the helper on the eventual game-winner.
Jones matched her career high of 11 saves to backbone UNH to a 9-7 victory at Brown. The freshman made six second-half saves, including two in the final three minutes to preserve UNH’s two-goal lead of 9-7. Jones held the Bears scoreless for a stretch of 18:28 that allowed UNH to increase its lead from one goal (3-2) to three goals (5-2). She also held Brown to just one goal in the last 18:28 of the game to help secure the victory. Jones also aided the defensive effort with one caused turnover and one ground ball.
Baumgartner recorded eight points on the week, including a career-best six-point effort in a 14-10 victory at Loyola. The freshman scored a goal and added five assists against the Greyhounds before adding a goal and an assist in a loss at George Mason. She also added two draw controls, a ground ball and a caused turnover on the week.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
ALBANY GREAT DANES
Albany (2-4, 0-0 America East) snapped a three-game skid with an 8-5 victory over crosstown-rival Siena in the Great Danes’ home opener at John Fallon Field on March 12... The Great Danes’ contest with St. Bonaventure on March 16 was suspended early in the first half due to a snowstorm... Rory Redmond (Baldwin, N.Y. / Baldwin) scored a career-high three goals in the Siena win and converted a free-position shot with 13:02 remaining that give her team a 7-4 lead... UAlbany broke a 3-3 tie late in the first half when Kayla Best (Schenectady, N.Y. / Guilderland) and Kate Fontana (East Syracuse, N.Y. / East Syracuse-Minoa) scored one minute and five seconds apart... Best, a freshman, has reached the scoring column in five of six games this season... Fontana added a season-high five caused turnovers and four ground balls... Brittany Scott (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / C.W. Baker) added two goals against the Saints, the fourth time she has scored multiple times in a single game... Krissy Rajczak (Scotia, N.Y. / Scotia-Glenville) found the net with 4:46 to play, her first goal of the season... Rajczak, who had off-season foot surgery, is 10th on the all-time scoring list with 103 points (70 goals, 33 assists)... goalkeeper Jen Daly (Stowe, Pa. / Pottsgrove) stopped six shots against Siena... Daly is the school’s all-time saves leader with 588... Fontana, who currently has 223 ground balls, needs five to move up to third place on the career chart... The senior midfielder is third in goals (124) and fourth in points (153) among UAlbany’s all-time leaders.
BINGHAMTON BEARCATS
Binghamton (0-4, 0-0 America East) dropped its lone contest this past week, falling 18-11 at Siena... The Bearcats erased an early two-goal deficit and mounted a 5-1 run to grab a 6-4 advantage midway through the first half. Siena, however, responded with a 14-2 run spanning both halves to secure its first victory of the season. The Saints held a 10-7 advantage after 30 minutes of action before pulling away by scoring eight of the next nine goals... A season-high seven different Bearcats found the scoresheet led by senior Heather Grose's (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) three-goal, two-assist effort... Binghamton received three points apiece from seniors Danielle Edwards (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) and Anna Riordan (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) and sophomore Julia Demuth (Jordan, N.Y./Jordan-Elbridge)... The Bearcats return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Manhattan before their conference opener on Saturday at Stony Brook.
NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS
New Hampshire (2-3, 0-0 America East) ended its three-game losing streak with a 9-7 road victory against Brown on Sunday... Senior attack Alexa Webster (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill), who entered the game with three goals on the season, recorded four tallies vs. the Bears... Webster scored two free-position goals in that game and is a perfect 3-for-3 on free position shots this season... Freshman goalkeeper Natalie Jones (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) matched her career high of 11 saves in the win against Brown... Junior attack Moira Talbot (Marblehead, Mass./Governor Dummer), sophomore attack Sarah Von Bargen (E. Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) and freshman midfielder Shaunna Kaplan (Framingham, Mass.) have scored at least one goal in all five games this season... Dating back to last season, Von Bargen has scored a goal in 12 consecutive games... Sophomore midfielder Ashley Durepo (Concord, N.H.) has recorded a point in all five games... Durepo leads the team in both ground balls and draw controls, and is second in caused turnovers... Kaplan is the only ?Cat who can boast recording multiple points in every game... UNH has scored nine goals in four consecutive games.
STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES
Stony Brook (5-1, 0-0 America East) went 2-0 on the week and improved to 5-1 overall this season after defeating Sacred Heart and Monmouth... In the 16-12 win over Sacred Heart, the duo of Amy Taylor (Owings, Md./Northern) and Kaitlin Leggio (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) proved to be too much as the pair combined for 12 points in the victory... Taylor netted five goals and added an assist to lead the way while Leggio recorded two goals and three assists... Leggio put the Seawolves up for good when she opened the second half with her second goal of the game with 28:04 left in the contest... Stony Brook Emily Jaissle (Northport, N.Y./Northport/Maryland) had her finest game as the Seawolf with two goals and an assist in the victory... On Sunday afternoon, the Seawolves opened the second half with five unanswered goals en route to a 12-6 victory over Monmouth... The Seawolf defense was outstanding throughout the game as it held the Hawks scoreless in the second half for the first 20:57... Using five unanswered goals to start the second half, Stony Brook took control of the contest and never looked back. Jenna Celano (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale/George Mason) tallied three of her game-high five goals in the second half as she led the offensive charge while Leggio finished with three goals and a pair of assists... Goalie Jen Sandtorv (Centereach, N.Y./Centereach) recorded 15 saves in the win... The Seawolves take on Siena and Binghamton in this week’s action
VERMONT CATAMOUNTS
Vermont (2-5, 0-0 America East) went 1-2 in three games at the University of Oregon this past week... The Catamounts closed out the week with a 15-11 victory over Longwood University... Sophomore Kristen Millar (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair Secondary) scored nine goals and added two assists to lead Vermont in scoring in the three games... She also collected 20 draw controls and five casued turnovers... Junior Emilie Clark (Calais, Vt./Union 32) also posted 11 points on the week with five goals and six assists... Vermont hosts Boston College on Wednesday (March 21) at 4 :00pm at Moulton Winder Field in its second home contest of the year.