BOSTON – UAlbany earned a pair of conference victories while UMass Lowell also won a pair of contests this past weekend. UNH, Vermont and UC Davis secured conference wins as well.
The River Hawks jumped up to #18 in the country following their 4-0 shutout of Maine and 2-0 blanking of Brown to extend their win streak to four contests. UAlbany, took down Cal in overtime and then outlasted Bryant on Sunday 4-2.
New Hampshire improved to 3-0 in #AEFH action with its 2-1 win at Vermont, while UC Davis edged Stanford 2-1. Cal took an early lead at Vermont, but the Catamounts came back to force OT and eventually win.
This week the Wildcats look to improve to 4-0 when they host Bryant, while #18 UMass Lowell welcomes Vermont. #19 UAlbany hosts Maine in a rematch of last year’s championship, while Stanford and Cal play a home and home this weekend.
2023 #AEFH Weekly Award Winners – Sept. 26
Offensive Player of the Week
Madison Leeper, UMass Lowell – So., Forward, East Amherst, N.Y
- Finished with three goals and one assist in a pair of shutout wins.
- Scored once and had an assist as UMass Lowell shut out Maine 4-0.
- Tallied both goals in a 2-0 shutout of Brown.
- This is Leeper’s first #AEFH Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Defensive Player of the Week
Alissia de Vries, UMass Lowell – Sr., Defense, The Hague, Netherlands
- Anchored a River Hawk defense which didn’t allow a goal in two contests last week.
- Part of first #AEFH team to shut out Maine since 2019 in 4-0 win.
- Assisted on the game-winner against Brown while limiting the Bears to five shots.
- This is Oliemans’ first career #AEFH Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Rookie of the Week
Mara Küskes, UAlbany – Fr., Defense, Mönchengladbach, Germany
- Had three assists and played two games on defense in a pair of conference wins.
- Recorded the game-winning assist in 2-1 win over Cal and added two more assists against Bryant.
- This is Küskes’ first career #AEFH Defensive Player of the Week honor.
2023 #AEFH Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 29 - Offensive Player of the Week: Tasmin Cookman, New Hampshire; Defensive Player of the Week: Jemma Woods, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Kathelijne Knuttel, New Hampshire
Sept. 6 - Offensive Player of the Week: Nicole Poulakis, New Hampshire; Defensive Player of the Week: Tina Jolly, California; Rookie of the Week: Saylor Kuefler, Maine
Sept. 12 - Offensive Player of the Week: Daniella Rhodes, California; Defensive Player of the Week: Alison Smisdom, UAlbany; Rookie of the Week: Gemma Townsend, Stanford
Sept. 19 - Offensive Player of the Week: Mallory Mackesy, Maine; Defensive Player of the Week: Marie Oliemans, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Saylor Kuefler, Maine
Sept. 26 - Offensive Player of the Week: Madison Leeper, UMass Lowell; Defensive Player of the Week: Alissia de Vries, UMass Lowell Rookie of the Week: Mara Kuskes, UAlbany
Fans will once again be able to watch nearly every #AEFH contest this season. Select games will air on The AE on ESPN while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
Follow the @AEGameday Twitter account to stay up-to-date on America East field hockey news all season long and use #AEMSOC to join the conversation.
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