Athletes of the Week: Oct. 16

Kaley Roberts

Soccer star Kaley Roberts turned into a dance battle extraordinaire during the lightning-delayed soccer game against St. Benedict on Saturday, Oct. 21.  This was one of her favorite moments of the season, along with their team trip to Portland, OR and pre-game dances in the locker rooms.  

Kaley’s enthusiasm and attitude combined with being a “leading scorer on the team,” as said by coach Emily Cripe, has earned her the coveted Athlete of the Week award this time around.  

Roberts is a sophomore from Naches, Washington, which she says “is a little town about 2.5 hours SE of Seattle with only one stoplight and about 800 people – I had a graduating class with 83 people.”

She started playing soccer when she was 5 and got involved with club ball when she was 11.  Roberts was very involved with athletics in high school; she played soccer, basketball, track and tennis.

In soccer, she received All Conference and All State for each of the 4 years, becoming league MVP her senior year. She 88 goals and 66 assists overall.  On top of that, she made it to State in her first year of track for the 4x400m, 400m, and 4x200m.  

Aside from playing soccer, Kaley also plans to attend nursing school after receiving a degree in public health, intending to become an oncology pediatric nurse.  

She said, “I hope our team will come out on top of the MIAC and that we keep making it to playoffs and building on our previous success. Individually I hope to accomplish being the record holder for HU in goals and points by the time I’m a senior, as well as receiving MIAC all conference,” when talking about season goals.  

Up until now, Roberts had 20 goals and 7 assists over the past 2 years.  As a first-year, she had 9 goals and 5 assists, receiving MIAC all conference honorable mention.

Coach Cripe said “She has scored 11 goals and has 2 assists for a total of 24 points.  She has played 998 minutes for us this season.  Kaley is one of the most dangerous attacking players in the conference.  Unfortunately, Kaley was kicked in the St. Ben’s game and broke her foot.  Obviously when the leading scorer of the team goes out with a season ending injury, there are BIG shoes left to be filled by her teammates.”  

Roberts may be out for the rest of the season, but she aims to return next year better than ever.  

 

Malachy Zamacona

 

Men’s Soccer Stopper Malachy Zamacona stepped up to be the Athlete of the Week by providing excellent coverage. As his fellow goalie junior Dean Issacson was out, Zamacona went in and showed off excellence skill in saves.

In the last couple of weeks he has stopped both Bethel and St. Mary’s from scoring that ultimately helped lead the Hamline team to victory.

Zamacona is a sophomore from North St. Paul with plenty of years of experience behind him, allowing him to challenge other teams with ease and confidence. On Oct. 11, Zamacona put his experience to work as he had four saves during soggy conditions in Arden Hills, MN against Bethel University. Ultimately the Pipers brought home a 1-0 win.

Head Coach Alex Morawiecki has great trust in Malachy’s performance saying,

“We’re very fortunate to have two goalkeepers that we believe in and trust to compete at a high level. When Dean went out due to injury a few weeks back, Malachy stepped in and we didn’t miss a beat.  It’s really a testament to the hard work he’s put in over the past couple of years coming to fruition.”

With the season now over Zamacona will have time to get prepared for the next season of saves.

 

You would be hardpressed to find somebody to had a better statistical week than Hamline sophomore men’s soccer goalie Malachy Zamacona. After all, how do you improve on two wins and two shutouts?

The North St. Paul native stood very tall in the Pipers’ 1-0 win over Bethel last Tuesday. Zamacona had a pair of saves in the first half, including a leaping stop that required all of his 6-4 frame to knock the ball astray. In the second half, Malachy challenged Royal attackers, often getting to the ball before they did.

On Saturday, Zamacona had four saves (three in the first half when the game was scoreless) as the Pipers survived soggy conditions for a 2-0 home field win over St. Mary’s that clinched a playoff spot. It continued a hot streak that has seen HU go 7-1-1 in its last nine games and 10-4-1 overall. Their 5-2-1 MIAC mark has them in third place.

Zamacona and fellow Dean Isaacson have combined to hold opponents to just 14 goals in 15 games.

The Pipers have just one game this week — Friday, October 20 at St. John’s (3:30 p.m.). The regular season finale is Tuesday, October 24 against Gustavus Adolphus at Paterson Field, also at 3:30.

Then, it’s on to the playoffs.