BENNINGTON, Vt. – SVC women's soccer junior forward Kaitlyn Forant (Hardwick, Vt.) was named the New England Collegiate Conference Rookie of the Week for the week ending September 2, 2012.

                Forant has had a great start to the season, scoring four goals in two games last week.  She had a natural hat trick in the Mountaineers' 5-0 win at Anna Maria College on Saturday in the team's season-opener, and then she added the fourth in a 6-0 victory over Pine Manor College in their first home match on Sunday.

                "I'm really happy with Kaitlyn's work ethic and what she contributes to the team," noted Head Coach Michael Zauzig.  "She's not focused on scoring goals, but more on doing whatever's necessary to help the team during the current situation.  It just so happened that she got on the end of a handful of good plays last week and was able to capitalize on those opportunities." 

                The junior transfer is in her first collegiate season after taking two years off while a student at the University of Vermont, making her eligible for conference rookie accolades.  She was unable to play her senior season at Hazen Union High School due to a broken leg.  "It's really impressive to see her come out on fire after having such a period of time away from the game," said Zauzig.  "Her transition to the collegiate level has been quite remarkable."

                Forant and the Mountaineers return to play at 3:30 on Wednesday at Green Mountain College.