Imagine you are a field hockey goaltender playing Drexel. Front and center, powerhouse Valentine Van Hellemont is charging towards you. You get in position, ready to block the shot, but in the back of your mind you know there is no stopping the Belgium native. You feel a droplet of sweat run down your forehead as you brace yourself, but suddenly the crowd goes wild. You turn around to see the playmaker’s strike ripped through the net – Hellemont scored a goal before you even knew it.
Understandably, the CAA has awarded the Drexel sophomore Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season. Hellemont has scored 11 goals this season and just recently recorded her second hat trick during Drexel’s field hockey match against William and Mary.
The Triangle covered Hellemont’s performance in her Hofstra and LaSalle matches, which led up to the team’s third consecutive CAA postseason berth and eighth straight win. In the Dragon’s following match against Lafayette, Hellemont scored two of the three goals made, sending her team to their ninth consecutive victory.
During their match against Saint Joseph’s, Drexel was unable to score against the sixth-ranked Hawks, losing the win streak they claimed for over a month. However, Drexel Athletics bore news shortly after the loss. “The Drexel field hockey team enters this week ranked No. 20 in the country in the latest NFHCA National Coaches Poll. This is Drexel’s first ranking since the 2013 season where they were ranked as high as 16th in the nation,” Drexel released on Oct. 22. A week later, on Oct. 29, the team bumped Temple to take 19th-ranked. Hellemont is undoubtedly a key reason Drexel stands with the best of the best.
And when you thought the former CAA Rookie of the Year was playing at her best, she raised her level yet again during the Oct. 25 match against William and Mary. Hellemont scored the first two goals of the match, giving the Dragons a 2-0 lead halfway through. In the fourth quarter, she completed the hat trick and Drexel beat the Tribe 5-0.
With her third CAA award of the season, Hellemont and the unstoppable Dragons finish up the regular season at Delaware on Friday, Nov. 1 at 5:00 p.m.