Beyond Rogers: Other Stars of the Week

Sophomore forward Brian Rogers secured The Crimson’s nod for Athlete of the Week—and deservedly so. After a game-winning goal against No. 13 Stanford under the lights last Saturday, Rogers struck again on Monday against UMass to once again break the 1-1 deadlock. But in other contests across Cambridge, a few Harvard competitors issued reminders that they too can put up noteworthy performances.

Seniors Chloe Keating and Alex Thompson also earned player of the week awards—Keating as the Ivy League’s top field hockey standout and Thompson for the CWPA Northern Division’s best water polo effort.

Keating amassed nine points (four goals and one assist) over the past weekend, as the forward propelled the Crimson to its highest two-game scoring total since 2003. The senior’s hat trick against Holy Cross proved particularly valuable, with Harvard topping the Crusaders by a three-score margin to start the season, 2-0.

This blistering start is nothing new for Keating, who earned Ivy League Athlete of the Week honors a year ago after netting five goals in her first three games.

Thompson, on the other hand, was a first-time award winner this week after stepping into a more prominent role for the Crimson offense. The senior totaled seven goals and an assist during the three-game MIT invitational, leading his squad in scoring twice. This standout performance from last year’s leading scorer was undoubtedly a good sign for Harvard, which graduated another of its top offensive threats in Egen Atkinson ’10. According to gocrimson, Thompson may be filling the role more directly than anticipated: the senior driver switched from wearing No. 3 to Atkinson’s No. 2.