NESCAC Field Hockey Player of the Week
Molly Griffin – Bates – Sr. – D – Holden, Mass.
In a 3-0 week for the Bobcats, Griffin anchored a stout Bates defense that recorded back-to-back shutouts in NESCAC play for the first time since 2017. The Bobcats allowed Hamilton just four shots (two on goal) in a 5-0 victory. Then limited Wesleyan to two shots (one on goal) in a 3-0 win. Griffin led the Bates defense and contributed on offense, scoring her second goal of the season in a 4-1 win over the University of New England on Tuesday, and dishing out an assist Saturday against Hamilton. Griffin is one of two Bobcats who handle penalty corners, and seven of Bates’ 12 goals last week came on penalty corners, with Griffin delivering the insert that led to five of them. 

NESCAC Field Hockey Weekly Honor Roll
Amherst – Sara Nidus (Larchmont, N.Y.) made two saves in a 3-1 victory at Wesleyan and four more in a 3-2 loss at Bowdoin last week. The senior made two third-quarter saves against the Polar Bears to keep Amherst in the game.

Bowdoin  – Junior Caroline Higgins (Weston, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal with 2:40 remaining as the Polar Bears defeated Amherst 3-2 on Sunday.

Colby – Senior Erin Quirk (Natick, Mass.) tallied her first goal of the season just before halftime against Middlebury, sending the teams into the break tied a 1-1. Early in the third quarter, the defender recorded her fifth defensive save of the season to keep the Mules within striking distance.  

Conn. College - Kendall Arnold (Pawling, N.Y.) netted a pair of goals last week to pace the Connecticut College attack. The sophomore scored both goals in a 4-3 setback at Trinity, recording the second multi-goal game of her career. The first tally came in the opening minute of the contest and gave the Camels a 1-0 advantage, and her second tied the game at 3-3 with 5:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. 

Hamilton – Lilly Truchon (South Burlington, Vt.) scored and gave the Continentals a 4-0 lead in the fourth quarter of their 4-2 win at Colby. Truchon leads the team with five goals and has 10 career tallies at Hamilton.

Middlebury – Senior KK Newton (Madison, Conn.) recorded seven saves over the weekend, helping Middlebury post its 20th-consecutive win and improve to 11-0 on the year. Newton stopped three shots in a 5-1 victory at Colby, before recording four saves in a 4-1 win at Endicott. The Panther tops the NESCAC with a.497 goals against average and five shutouts while ranking second in save percentage (.783). 

Trinity – Senior Demi Janis (Cos Cob, Conn.) netted a game-tying goal in the 15th minute and delivered the game-winning goal for the Bantams in the 60th minute of play to grab the 4-3 victory over Connecticut College in a 2-0 week for the Bantams.

Tufts – Claire Gavin (Durham, Conn.) scored three goals with an assist for seven points in two Tufts games last week. The junior’s unassisted goal early in the second half against Wesleyan tied the score at 1-1 on Wednesday in an eventual overtime setback to the Cardinals. On Sunday, Gavin factored in all three Tufts goals with two markers and one helper in a 3-2 win at Rochester. Gavin’s two goals tied the game at 1-1 and gave Tufts a 2-1 lead in the second half. She then assisted the eventual game-winning goal by Lainie Pearson with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Wesleyan – Imani Ochieng (Pottstown, Pa.) led a defensive effort that allowed the Jumbos to score just once in a 2-1 overtime road win over No. 5 ranked Tufts, the first-ever road win over a Top 5 ranked opponent in program history. The junior also tallied an assist off a penalty corner in a 3-1 loss to Amherst on Saturday. 

Williams – Natalia Nolan (Madison, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal and tacked on an assist in a 4-1 triumph at Connecticut College on Saturday.