DANBURY, Conn. - The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has released its weekly honors in field hockey and Mount Holyoke College student-athlete Liz DiCesare was honored. On the heels of her NEWMAC Defensive Performer of the Week on Monday, she was recognized as the ECAC Division III New England Defensive Player of the Week.
A sophomore goalkeeper from Westford, Mass., DiCesare earned top defensive honors after backstopping the #17 Lyons to a 1-0 victory over #18 Williams in MHC's only contest last week. She stopped 14 shots in the win, including nine in the second half of action. It was the third shutout of the season for Mount Holyoke and moved DiCesare's record to 5-1.
DiCesare then pushed her record to 6-1 on the season as the Lyons played at Wesleyan this past Tuesday. Putting forth a six-save effort, she backstopped the MHC defense to a 2-1 overtime victory.
Through the first six games, DiCesare owns a 0.83 goals against average and the conference's best save percentage with a .884 mark. Additionally, she has made 38 saves and has surrendered just five goals this season. Currently, DiCesare ranks first in the NEWMAC in save percentage, second in goals against average and fourth in both goals against and saves.
A former standout at Bishop Guertin High School, DiCesare was the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year last season, posting an 18-3 mark as the starter in all 21 games. She owned a 1.14 goals against average with a .841 save percentage. In addition to 111 saves made over 1289:53 minutes of action, she recorded a shutout and five combined shutouts. Ranking first in the NEWMAC in wins and save percentage, she helped back the Lyons to its first NCAA Tournament win in program history, also advancing to the NCAA Second Round.
The #18 Lyons field hockey team (6-1; 0-0 NEWMAC) opens its NEWMAC schedule on Saturday, traveling East to face #10 Wellesley. Last season, the two teams met twice, with both decisions going in favor of the Blue. Wellesley captured the regular season meeting by a 2-1 margin in overtime and went on to win the NEWMAC Championship game, 1-0, also in overtime.
Live stats and video for Saturday's contest can be found at http://athletics.mtholyoke.edu/sports/fh/2014-15/schedule
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