Leach And Bell Sweep Weekly MAC Awards
10/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Golden Flashes named both Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week
KENT, Ohio – Winners of five straight and seven of the past eight, the Kent State field hockey team picked up more accolades from the Mid-American Conference office on Wednesday. The Golden Flashes swept the weekly awards for the fist time this season as senior Nicole Leach (San Diego, Calif /Mira Mesa) was named Defensive Player of the Week and junior forward Debbie Bell (Hamilton, New Zealand/Waikato) was announced as the Offensive Player of the Week.
Leach earns her first career honor following a weekend in which her play on both sides of the ball guided a Kent State defensive effort that surrendered just eight shots and a mere four penalty corners in two games. The all around play from the senior business management major continually forced turnovers and won loose balls as the Golden Flashes gained a half a game lead in the race for the MAC regular season crown.
In a 4-1 win at Ohio on Friday, the KSU defense allowed just three shots and one penalty corner for the entire game. The Golden Flashes performance was so dominating that Ohio managed just one shot in the final 52 minutes of the contest. On Sunday, Kent State cruised to an 8-1 over Central Michigan allowing only five shots including just one in the second half. Along with her solid defensive pressure, Leach also scored a pair of goals and added four assists. She currently ranks third on the team with 23 total points totaling seven goals and adding nine assists.
Bell, who was also recognized on the womensfieldhockey.com weekly honor roll, takes home her fourth Offensive Player of the Week Award this season. This past weekend, she led Kent State to a pair of wins scoring five of the Golden Flashes' 13 goals.
Bell scored twice in the 4-1 win over Ohio on Friday, becoming the all-time leader in career goals at Kent State in the process. She is the nation's sixth leading scorer with 20 goals this season and now has a school-record 70 career goals, which also rank her third all-time in Mid-American Conference history. Bell then capped off the weekend with a hat trick against Central Michigan on Sunday that included her fifth game winning goal of the year. She currently leads the MAC in scoring has racked up six goals in her last three games.
Kent State closes out the regular season on Sunday at Missouri State. With a win the Golden Flashes would earn at least a share of their third straight MAC title and the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming conference tournament held Nov. 4-6 at Central Michigan.
