A pair of Tri-City student-athletes are having an impact for their post-secondary teams.
Port Coquitlam’s Maya Smith ended her goal-scoring drought for the Capilano Blues women’s soccer team in the biggest way possible.
The Terry Fox Secondary grad exploded for four goals recently, including a hat tick in a 3-2 win over the Douglas Royals. She followed that up the next day by scoring the game winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Vancouver Island University.
The goals were Smith’s first for the Blues since she joined the team last year and earned her honours at the PACWEST’s women’s soccer athlete of the week, as well as national recognition as as a Canadian College Athletic Association female athlete of the week.
Meanwhile, another Fox grad continues to turn heads — with his toe.
Dawson Hodge, a kicker for the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks football team in Waterloo, Ont., was named the Ontario University Athletics’ special teams player of the week after he connected on four of five field goal attempts in a 49-11 win over the University of Windsor Lancers last Saturday (Oct. 1). Three of his field goals were over 40 yards, one of which sailed 49 yards.
Hodge, a third-year Geography major who’s in his second year of athletic eligibility, also contributed four extra points in the game, a career high.
In five games so far this season, Hodge has connected on 11 of his 12 field goal attempts and he’s been successful on 13 of 14 point after attempts. He’s also punted the ball longer than 50 yards nine times, including a monster 71-yard boot in a 21-18 loss to the University of Ottawa Gee Gees on Sept. 24.
In his weekly newsletter, Laurier coach Michael Faulds recently said Hodge “is making a very strong case that he is the best kicker in the country.”
Indeed, Hodge’s 91.7 per cent field goal percentage is second only to the University of Manitoba’s Niko DiFonte and Tyler Mullan at Queen’s University, neither of whom have yet to miss. His average punting distance of 44 yards is also the third best in U Sports.
