WESTWOOD, Mass. - The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) has announced its weekly award winners for the week ending October 21st and Mount Holyoke College student-athlete Mirjam Keochakian was recognized. A senior captain, she was named the conference's Defensive Athlete of the Week in field hockey, following a strong week - which included a key NEWMAC victory.
Hailing from Hamburg, Germany, Keochakian was outstanding for the Lyons last week. Despite a tough loss to #16 Williams to open the week, she helped the squad battle back and earn a critical 4-1 victory over Pioneer Valley-rival and conference-foe, Smith College. In the win, she recorded two goal line defensive saves in the second half of action, preventing the visiting Pioneers from tying the contest.
A starter in all 16 of the Lyons contests this season, Keochakian has scored three goals, including a game-winner, with an assist for seven points. She has posted 39 shots, including 19 that have gone on goal, while recording a 1-2 mark on penalty strokes. Currently, Keochakian leads the team and is second among all conference players with five defensive saves.
The former Deerfield Academy standout notched nine goals with nine assists for 27 points as a starter in all 18 games last season. In addition to posting 62 shots, including 43 on goal, she had three game-winning goals and three defensive saves. Among her top efforts included scoring the game-winning goal and adding a defensive save in a 2-0 victory over Rensselaer (9/3). She also notched a hat trick in a 6-1 win against Clark (9/16)and had the game-winner in a 3-0 shutout over WPI (10/28) on her way to earning NEWMAC All-Conference First Team honors.
As a sophomore, Keochakian started all 19 games, recording six goals with seven assists for 19 points. She went 1-of-1 on penalty stroke attempts, while ranking second on the team in goals, assists, points and shots. ... Scored her first collegiate goal in a 6-2 win over Castleton (9/10) and later tallied a goal and assisted on the game-winning shot in a 2-1 double-overtime victory at Wellesley in the NEWMAC Quarterfinals (11/1). A multiple NFHCA National Academic Squad member and NEWMAC Academic All-Conference honoree, she played in 20 games during her rookie season, recording two assists.
Mount Holyoke (9-7; 4-3 NEWMAC), which has secured a spot in the upcoming NEWMAC playoffs, returns to the field on Tuesday when it travels to Worcester State for a 7pm non-conference tilt. The Lyons conclude the regular season on Saturday at home for a critical 1pm game against conference-foe, WPI on the Turf Field.
