Kent State field hockey senior goalie Kara Copeland was named Co-Mid-American Conference Player of the Week yesterday by the MAC office.

“It is definitely an honor,” she said. “Any player would want to be honored like this. I owe it all to my teammates; I could not have done it without them.”

Copeland allowed just three goals and made 12 saves over the weekend in a road sweep of MAC opponents Miami and Ball State.

Copeland has been one of the catalysts of the team’s current success. The Golden Flashes have won six out of its last seven games and now sit 6-3. Copeland and the defense have only allowed five goals in the six victories this season.

She has laid out on the turf many times, diving around the goal cage, knocking the ball out of the area. She credits the defense in front of her with her success this season.

“We play really well as a team. All the girls in front of me listen to me and get to position to stop the ball,” she said. “I could not ask to play with a better set of teammates.”

The win Saturday was especially sweet for Copeland who, before the game, said she wanted to beat Miami badly after not playing well against them last season. She answered her own challenge with six second- half saves as the Redhawks attempted a comeback.

She is second in the MAC with two shutouts. She started eight games last season. This season, she has started all nine games and has not come out of a game. This is the third time she has won the award, winning it last season also after a 21 save weekend against Ohio, and once as a sophomore.

Copeland and the rest of the Flashes will try to keep up their hot streak in games against Missouri State and St. Louis this weekend.

Contact field hockey reporter Jeff Russ at [email protected].