Each week during the academic year, the NE10 honors
Athletes of the Week for all of its 24 sponsored sports while they are in season. Faces in the Crowd shines a spotlight on outstanding on-field performances that didn't earn Athlete of the Week recognition, while also highlighting academic or community efforts from student-athletes across the league.
Below are this week's
NE10 Faces in the Crowd.
Alice Bender
School: Pace
Sport: Volleyball
Bender nailed nine aces last week in a three set match vs. Lincoln. She Ferris Buellere'd the Blue Tigers (nine times) to post the most aces in a three-set match in Division II this season. The rookie also had a career-high 18 digs in the matchup.
Isabel Hughes and Claudia Keith
School: SNHU
Sport: Women's Soccer
There's the old saying that if you have two goalies then you don't have one. Boy is that wrong. Claudia Keith is one of the best goalies in the country and last week at Jefferson she posted eight saves (third-most in the NE10 this year). That's all well and good except for the fact that two days later Hughes made her SNHU starting debut with a 10-save outing against Wilmington. Soooooo two goalies is a pretty good thing here.
Reese Swanson
School: Franklin Pierce
Sport: Field Hockey
Only one player in the NE10 this fall has collected a field hockey hat trick. That's Swanson, who scored a trio of goals against Saint Michael's last week. Her six points in the effort are also a league-best in 2025.
Annie Lorenz
School: Bentley
Sport: Field Hockey
Lorenz made 18 saves total against No. 2 Saint Anselm and No. 3 East Stroudsburg last week for the Falcons. She made a season high 11 saves against ESU, including an incredible two saves on penalty strokes.
Connor Dietz and Jay Kastantin
School: AIC and Assumption
Sport: Football
Dietz and Kastanian earn co-recognition this week for putting up the top two offensive yardage performances in the NE10 this season, and in the same game. Dietz went for 291 yards, splitting his work through the air and on the ground and posting the top rushing game for an NE10 student-athlete this fall. Kastantin collected 272 yards of offense in the Hounds win in Springfield.
This Year's Faces in the Crowd
Week 1
Anna Daggatt, Saint Michael's Volleyball
Dillon Labonte, SNHU Cross Country
Jakkai Stith, AIC Football
Jenni Huttunen, Franklin Pierce Soccer
Taylor Leckey, SCSU Field Hockley
Week 2
Alice Bender, Pace Volleyball
Annie Lorenz, Bentley Field Hockey
Isabel Hughes and Claudia Keith, SNHU Soccer
Reese Swanson, Franklin Pierce Field Hockey
Connor Dietz, AIC Football
Jay Kastantin, Assumption Football
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
Fans can subscribe via this link to follow NE10 NOW on FloSports this season. The partnership between the NE10 and FloSports works to provide funds back to the athletic departments of the Northeast-10 Conference in support of student-athletes while promoting the league on a national platform.