UMass Lowell Captures Final Northeast-10 Weekly Field Hockey Honors of the Year

LOWELL (Dec. 6, 2010) – In the final week of the 2010 season, the Northeast-10 Conference honored four student-athletes from the No. 1 UMass Lowell River Hawk field hockey team.  Seniors Liz Day (North Andover, Mass.) and Jaime Hadley (Chelmsford, Mass.) were named Player and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, while freshman Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) was named Goalkeeper of the Week and classmate Rachel McCarthy (Reading, Mass.) earned Rookie of the Week honors.

Day, who has been named Player of the Week in two of the last three weeks, scored twice in the NCAA Tournament, including the game-winner in the Title Game on Saturday.  Her 14th goal of the year proved to be the difference-maker in the 1-0 victory over No. 2 Shippensburg in the National Championship.

Day finished the year with a personal-best 14 goals and 14 assists for 42 points in 2010.  She is one of four children of Stephen and Cathy Day of North Andover, Mass.

Hadley anchored the River Hawk defense to hold off Shippensburg in the Title Game, despite being outshot and outcornered in the contest, Hadley and the River Hawk defensive corps never allowed a shot to find the back of the cage through the 70-minute contest.

In the NCAA Semifinal, UMass Lowell outcornered Stonehill 11-5 and held the Skyhawks to just five shots in the game.
Hadley is one of four daughters of Deborah and David Hadley of North Chelmsford, Mass.  This was Hadley’s fourth Defensive Player of the Week nod this season.

Hopkins did not look like a rookie in the high-pressure situation of an NCAA Tournament, as she allowed just one goal over the two-game span, including earning her NCAA-record 16th shutout of the year in the National Championship on Saturday.

She made six saves in the game, preserving the close victory for the River Hawks.  She also stopped three of four shots she faced in Thursday’s Semifinal win over No. 5 Stonehill.

Hopkins, the NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year, has earned Goalkeeper of the Week honors six times during the 2010 season.  She is one of two children of Julie Ann Hopkins of Harwich, Mass. and John Hopkins, Sr. of Wakefield, Mass.

McCarthy is also no stranger to Rookie of the Week honors, as she grabbed her fourth nod of the year in the final week of play.  She dished a pair of key assists in the River Hawks’ 5-1 Semifinal victory over Stonehill on Thursday in Louisville, Ky.

The midfielder is one of three children of Michele and Paul McCarthy of Reading, Mass.

The River Hawks secured the program’s second NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday, completing their perfect 24-0 season.  The squad will be honored in a “Celebrating Perfection” rally held at the Tsongas Center on Friday, Dec. 10 at 3:00 p.m.  More information is available on www.GoRiverHawks.com(.)

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