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PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Following an excellent first year with the Manhattanville College field hockey team, Amanda DeChent has maintained her scoring touch.
DeChent, a junior, currently leads Manhattanville with 10 goals and for the second consecutive time has been named the Freedom Conference field hockey player of the week.
The Putnam Valley graduate, who had a team-leading 13 goals in 2011, scored twice, including the winning goal, in a Manhattanvilles 3-2 overtime triumph Sunday versus St. Lawrence.
DeChent also scored two goals Saturday against William Smith College.
It is an honor to be named player of the week two weeks in a row and I am so thankful for my teammates who have helped me receive this award by continuing to push me to improve this season, DeChent said. The entire game, we were pretty much even with St. Lawrence so for us to finish strong with the win meant a lot.
DeChent is ahead of her scoring pace from last year. She attributes her fast start to her focus on shooting in the offseason.
Our goalie, Amy (Hilton) has been phenomenal this year so practicing on her has helped my stick skills in front of the cage improve, as well as my shots, said DeChent, who is majoring in biology. Feedback from my coaches has also helped me make better decisions in the circle.
Along with focusing on her shooting, DeChent spent plenty of time during the summer at her alma mater.
I was a lot more serious this summer, playing in the summer league at Putnam Valley, said DeChent of the open division in the Hudson Valley Field Hockey Summer League. I also went to the turf with a lot of my former Putnam Valley teammates and did a lot of stick work.
Manhattanville is 4-3 as it heads into Freedom Conference play. DeChent said the team feels good about its play through seven games.
I think this has been a great start, DeChent said. We are working great together on the field and we have so much energy.
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