SPORTS BRIEF: Hopkins (football) and Kartsonis (women's soccer) honored by Ivies

The Ivy League recognized a pair of Harvard athletes yesterday, naming football’s John Hopkins as its Defensive Player of the Week and women’s soccer’s Kerry Kartsonis as its Rookie of the Week.

Hopkins led the Crimson with 10 tackles in Harvard’s dominating 32-15 win over Cornell on Saturday. The senior safety also intercepted the game’s final pass, an errant Hail Mary attempt from Big Red quarterback Nathan Ford. Senior safety Doug Hewlett batted the ball into his teammate’s hands as time expired, lifting the Crimson to its second league win in as many tries.

Hopkins is the second member of the Harvard secondary to be honored as the league’s top defensive player this year.

Two weeks ago, senior cornerback Steven Williams was awarded the same honor for his two interceptions in the Crimson’s 24-17 win over Brown on Sept. 22.

Just two minutes into the second half of the Crimson’s matchup against Fairfield last Tuesday, Kartsonis broke into the collegiate scoring ranks when she took a pass from co-captain Nicole Rhodes and beat the Stags’ goalkeeper, cranking the ball in the upper-left corner of the net.

On Saturday, her feed on co-captain Megan Merritt’s game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory at Cornell pushed her season scoring total to four points.

Kartsonis is one of several freshmen leading the offensive charge for Harvard women’s soccer thus far this season.

Two weeks ago, rookie forward Katherine Sheeleigh was named Ivy League Player of the Week following her hat trick in the Crimson’s 4-0 victory over Central Connecticut State on Sept. 21.

—CRIMSON SPORTS STAFF