Though we are less than a month into the DII field hockey season, the goals are piling up very quickly. Some of the best goal scorers over the past few seasons are front and center, leading the way.
Let’s take a look at seven goal scorers making an impact early on in the 2018 DII field hockey season.
MORE: Complete NFHCA rankings
Zoe Norton, Molloy
Norton led the Lions in scoring in 2017, putting seven goals in the cage. The redshirt senior nearly topped that in one game, scoring five goals against New Haven on September 15. She’s tops in DII field hockey with 10 goals heading into this week’s play. Norton has been held scoreless in her last two games, and the Lions have suffered consecutive losses, so getting her back in the box score is imperative to Molloy’s success.
Kacie Smith, Stonehill
Kacie breaks 200 points & leads us to our comeback win against #7 Assumption on Saturday earning her her third POTW honors in just four weeks! Our rock, Sara Freedman, ranked third in the nation for save %, has a stellar performance landing her on the Honor Roll! #fromfronttoback pic.twitter.com/HzlEaV7R1I
— Stonehill FH (@Stonehillfh) September 25, 2018
Stonehill’s record-setting forward had a 2017 to remember, setting the single-season goals mark with an astounding 41. The Skyhawks super scorer is back at it in 2018 with eight goals on the season, six of which have come in her last two games. While it may sound like Smith is firing away every time she touches it, she's actually one of the more unselfish players amongst the Northeast-10 leaders with three assists in the early going. One of the more unstoppable forces in DII field hockey over the years, Smith is the current active leader in goals at 85.
Tess Anderson, Bentley
The Falcons junior forward scored four combined goals in her first two years at Bentley. Anderson has doubled that in just seven games in 2018, already scoring eight goals on the season. When Anderson scores, she does it in bunches with three multi-goal games already. Bentley won six games last season, but Anderson’s hot hand already has them at five wins in 2018.
Kyra Wozniak, Kutztown
That feeling when all four people in this picture scored yesterday.... #teamwork #GoBearsGo pic.twitter.com/DnCEBxWrf7
— Kutztown Field Hockey (@KUFieldHockey) September 9, 2018
Wozniak broke out in a big way in 2017, scoring 13 goals for the Golden Bears and finishing fourth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The junior is rolling once again, scoring seven goals across five of her first six starts. She’s tied atop the PSAC for most goals and helped Kutztown leap from the unranked to No. 9 in the latest NFHCA poll.
MORE: These programs have won the most DII field hockey titles
Jazmin Petrantonio, Shippensburg
#shipFH GOALLLL #2 for Jazmin!! 3-1 with 10 left in the first half. pic.twitter.com/2rtK0Qs6cb
— Ship Field Hockey (@SHIPfieldhockey) September 22, 2018
Petrantonio had a memorable collegiate debut in 2017. The PSAC Freshman of the Year earned both the Atlantic Region Player of the Year and First-Team All-American honors in a season in which she scored 12 goals and assisted on 12 others. That 12th goal came in the 2017 national championship match, where Petrantonio was able to help the Raiders hoist their second trophy in as many years. This season Petrantonio has seven goals and they’ve come in two games. She had a four-goal performance against Southern Connecticut State and a hat-trick against Mansfield.
Mary McNeil, Merrimack
McNeil burst on the NE10 scene as a freshman in 2015 taking Rookie of the Year honors behind a 14 goal and 11 assist season. She continues to be one of the best in DII field hockey when it comes to dishing it out to her teammates, but the goal scoring saw a drop the past two seasons, scoring just ten goals from 2016-17. Now, McNeil is back on track. Already with seven assists, McNeil is filling the nets as well with six goals on the year.
Emily Miller, LIU Post
No DII field hockey list is complete without the Pioneers superstar scorer. While Smith got the headlines with her record 41 goals last season, Miller was right behind her with 40, her second-straight season compiling 20 or more goals. She has the second-most goals amongst active student-athletes with 72. The Pioneers senior has shown no signs of slowing down in 2018. Miller has scored in four of her five starts, including logging a hat trick against Southern Connecticut State on September 18.
(All stats as of Tuesday, September 25, 2018.)
