Our Athlete of the Week this week is senior soccer standout Jessica Berthiaume. The Worcester, MA, native scored in a 3-2 loss to division rival U-Mass Boston last Saturday, Oct. 19, but she tops this list for showing her ability to help teammates find the back of the net in recent games. She delivered the game winning assist in back-to-back victories in which the Lady Owls squeaked by 1-0. The first was to freshman forward Brittany Tolla in the second half of a game against Bridgewater State. The second crucial assist was to junior teammate Alex Haley against Western Connecticut. Berthiaume now has five assists on the year, which ties Brittany Boscarino for the team lead. With a 5-1 conference record, Berthiaume’s play is a big reason why the team is sitting at 13-4-1 with it’s last game of the regular season on Nov. 2.
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Our runner-up this week is senior field hockey back Katelyn Simula. Simula had a goal in each of the two games that the Lady Owls played this week. Both came off of one-timers from teammate Leddy Gallagher. This late in the season it’s not surprising the two senior starters have developed chemistry. The first goal proved to be the difference in a 4-3 win over Westfield State, while the second came as part of a larger scoring barrage that gave the Lady Owls a 6-0 blowout win over Framingham State.
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The second runner-up this week is senior soccer forward Scott Douglas. After a frustrating 2-1 loss to powerhouse Springfield State, Douglas rallied in head coach Ron Butcher’s final home game against Western Connecticut State four days later. With the Owls trailing 1-0 early, Douglas scored the next two goals to give the team a lead that they would never relinquish, eventually winning 3-1. Douglas now has 11 goals on the season, which accounts for nearly a third of the teams overall point production.
Zach Winn can be contacted at zwinn@keene-equinox.com