Kiana Wright
Opinions Editor
Sophomore Kayla Klein has recently been dominating the field hockey field, framing her as one of two Keene State College athletes of the week. The field hockey team has started the season off strong and has thus far been undefeated. Klein said she has brought her all this season, and it her teammates and coach can agree it shows on game day.
On Saturday, September 8 the team played against Springfield College. Not only did the KSC field hockey team take home a win, but Klein managed to score a hat trick.
The offensive player assisted three goals during the game, bumping up the scoreboard five to two. Only four days later, during a game against Colby-Sawyer College, Klein managed to score another hat trick. Head Coach Amy Watson said she was ecstatic for the skill level Klein had played at in the two games. Watson said, “She really came on strong in the last game, three goals are huge.”
KSC senior and one of Klein’s teammates, Julia Babbitt said, “You could tell Kayla had a lot of energy in the last two games, not giving up until her job was done and the ball was in the net.”
Kayla Klein (SOPH., forward, #9) scored three hat-tricks in Games against Springfield, Colby-Sawyer, and University of Massachusetts: Dartmouth. Klein has ten goals so far for the KSC Women’s Field Hockey team, Who are undefeated this season (5-0-0).
Klein has been with the team for two years. Watson said Klein is only becoming more experienced and advanced. “She really made a huge jump from last year to this year,” Watson said.
Babbitt said, “Kayla is noticeably more confident and aggressive compared to last year, with one year under her belt I think she’s less afraid of holding back.”
Klein said it’s a team effort and she had the help of the rest of her teammates to help her achieve those goals. “My first one, my friend Ally, she had a really good shot to goal and I just tipped it in.” Klein knows it takes more than one person to win a game.
Babbitt said, “Kayla is a team player because she encourages everyone to be better players so we can succeed as a team.”
Klein believes it’s essential to be there for her teammates. “Being a collegiate athlete in general is hard so just being there for your teams when they need someone is important.” Watson said Klein has a great work ethic. “She comes out everyday, works hard, she’s really trained hard over the summer to get ready, she offensively has been strong for us so far this year,” Watson said.
No athlete comes into fall season without a “little” practice; Klein certainly did not, said Watson. “She works hard, she trains hard. She came into this season ready to go. That’s huge. Especially with a fall sport. You have to do a lot of your preparation over the summer,” said Watson. Klein came into this season running, and she won’t stop now. Klein and the team have big plans for the rest of this season said Babbitt.
“We are off to an impeccable start and I think that momentum is going to continue to push us to more key victories throughout the season,” said Babbitt.
Without a doubt KSC has faith that these girls are true to their word, and we expect nothing less than what they’ve already brought to the game so far. Klein said, “To be able to win LEC’s for my four years would be awesome. That’s a huge goal for us. Making history for the school.”
Kiana Wright can be contacted at
kwright@kscequinox.com
