Two St. Mary’s College of Maryland goalkeepers earned United East Conference weekly honors Monday, with women’s soccer’s Breanna Brown and field hockey’s Caroline McDonald both recognized as their sports’ Defensive Player of the Week despite tough results on the field.
Brown, a sophomore, claimed the women’s soccer honor for the second straight week — her second career United East weekly award. She turned in 15 saves, a 0.789 save percentage and a 1.60 goals against average as the Seahawks went 0-1-2 over the stretch. She made one save in a 1-1 draw with Stevenson University on Sept. 9, then started the second half of a 1-1 draw with John Carroll University on Sept. 12, adding three saves and allowing one goal. She capped the week with a season-best 11 stops in a 2-0 loss to the University of Lynchburg on Sept. 13. Brown now ranks second in the United East with a 1.00 goals against average and a 0.839 save percentage, and ties for third with 24 total saves. St. Mary’s (1-2-3) hosts No. 12 Mary Washington (3-1-0) Wednesday at 5 p.m.
McDonald, a senior, earned her first United East honor and second career conference weekly award for field hockey after a pair of tough outings. She posted a 2.86 goals against average and a 0.821 save percentage over her first two starts of the season, setting a career-best mark with 16 saves — including eight in the third quarter alone — in a 2-0 loss at York College of Pennsylvania on Sept. 12. She followed that with seven more stops in 45 minutes of work in a 4-0 loss to No. 21 Washington & Lee University on Sept. 13. St. Mary’s (1-3) hosts Randolph-Macon (3-2) Thursday at 5 p.m.
Brown has now been named United East Defensive Player of the Week in both weeks of the young season, while McDonald shares the field hockey honor this season with Penn State Harrisburg senior Macenzie Mulholland, who was recognized in the season’s opening week.
