Cailla Prisco
Student Life Editor
Sophomore Kayla Klein has continued to dominate the sport of field hockey this season, tallying up 14 goals in ten games so far, three of which were her first career hat tricks. She is currently the leading scorer on the Keene State field hockey team this year.
Keene State is not the only one aware of Klein’s success on the field. As of this past week, Klein has been inducted in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Honor Roll (NFHCA). This association is made up of coaches and is separated by the division of the school.
These coaches put out weekly and monthly rankings of the top 20 teams in the nation in each division, weekly awards for top players and an honor roll where individual players are ranked based on their individual stats.
According to the Little East Conference (LEC) website, “Klein is the first KSC player to receive national weekly recognition in two years, since Sami Smith class of ‘17 did so in October 2016. This marks the second consecutive week a LEC field hockey student-athlete garnered weekly honors from the NFHCA after Worcester State University senior forward Michaila Parent earned a spot on the honor roll for the week ending September 16, 2018.”
When Klein was asked how she felt about being recognized at such a national level, she was very humble and had her “eye on the bigger picture.”
“I think this is a very cool experience for our team as a whole, because it’s Keene State being recognized as well,” Klein said. “I am very lucky with the team that I have, and being able to work so well together — because it’s a group effort to get that ball into the net.”
Teammate and defensive player Ally McCall thinks that Kayla’s breakout season is helping everyone on the team.
“She has really grown into herself this season, and I think since she has been doing so well, she has more confidence in her abilities because she is an amazing asset to this team,” said McCall.
When asked about what she predicts for the rest of the season, Klein is still just focused on winning the LEC championship.
“The main goal is LEC, and winning that championship as a team again because that’s really all we are working towards. Being recognized as an individual player is really humbling but it’s not what I’m striving for. I definitely want it a lot more now.” said Klein.
Captain and midfielder Erica Stauffer is proud of Klein’s accomplishments, especially while still being an underclassman.
“I think Kayla is doing a great job, it’s always great to see someone improve and come into their own, and she’s a sophomore so she can only get better from here,” said Stauffer.
Klein has started all ten games so far and has scored more than a third of the total team goals for the current season. Keene State has a home game against Framingham State Saturday, October 6 at 12:00 p.m..
Cailla Prisco can be contacted at
cprisco@kscequinox.com
