Our Athlete of the Week this week is senior field hockey player Leddy Gallagher. The midfielder was an integral part of the team’s Little Eastern Conference tournament run, which culminated in a league-championship over the weekend. It started with Gallagher’s two goals in the semifinal against U-Mass Dartmouth. Trailing 1-0 at halftime, it appeared the Lady Owls were in a position to be upset, until Gallagher started the second half with back-to-back goals to give KSC the lead. When the Corsairs tied the game up seven minutes later, Gallagher delivered again with an assist to forward Marisa Lemoine. The goal gave the Lady owls a 3-2 victory. But, Gallagher wasn’t finished. In the championship, she broke a scoreless game with an unassisted goal to start the second half. It would prove to be the difference in a 2-1 win over Plymouth State that gave the team their second LEC championship in three years.
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Our runner-up this week is women’s soccer goalie Victoria Crenson. A dominant force all year, Crenson stepped it up a notch in the LEC tournament. The junior was a brick wall in both games she played in, not letting a single shot find the back of the net. The defense ensured Crenson wouldn’t see too much action, turning offensive attacks away before their goalie even had to make the save. Crenson finished with three saves in a 5-0 drubbing of U-Mass Dartmouth in the semifinal, and kept her team alive in the championship with four saves against Eastern Conn. St. Crenson had little room for error, KSC won the title with a 1-0 victory.
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The second runner-up this week is sophomore volleyball player Madeleine Nossif. Nossif led the team with 14 kills in the LEC tournament-opening game to help lead the Lady Owls to a 3-0 victory. In the semifinals against rival Plymouth State, Nossif again impressed with 11 kills as part of an intense match that featured five sets. Although the team lost the LEC championship game to U-Mass Boston, Nossif played well, racking up ten points, again good for second on the team to Anglea Silveri’s 14.5. Although they came up short, this young team showed a lot of promise in their losing effort.
Zach Winn can be contacted at zwinn@keene-equinox.com