Aug. 29, 2011

Center Valley, Pa. -- The Patriot League announced its weekly awards for Aug. 22-28 in field hockey, men and women's soccer and volleyball Monday.

While four games were washed out by Hurricane Irene, the field hockey season opened up with five contests for four teams over the weekend. Colgate was the only squad to post a victory, and was rewarded with a sweep of the first set of weekly awards.

In men's soccer, Colgate grabbed two of the four weekly awards with Patrick Letourneau being named the BRINE Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Jimmy McLaughlin being named the BRINE Rookie of the Week. American's Seth Goldman was the BRINE Offensive Player of the Week and Lehigh's Ciaran Nugent was the BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week. American, which tied No. 15 Ohio State 1-1 Saturday will face No. 18 Penn State tonight at 7. Holy Cross also has a top 25 matchup this week, hosting No. 20 Dartmouth at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

In women's soccer, American, Navy and Army each posted shutouts in women's soccer, with the Eagles and Mids pulling out victories and the Black Knights playing to a scoreless tie with Central Connecticut State. Each school took home an honor from the Patriot League, with Hannah Tatro and Erin Mulhern giving American a pair of award winners.

In women's volleyball, Army dominated at its own Black Knights Invitational, opening the season 3-0. Ariana Mankus was named Player of the Week and Mary Vaccaro was named the Rookie of the Week after outstanding performances in the three wins.

Patriot League Field Hockey Weekly Awards

Offensive Player of the Week
OLIVIA NABHAN, COLGATE So., F, Rye, N.Y.
Nabhan opened her 2011 season in fine fashion with two goals and an assist in Colgate's 3-0 victory over Ball State on Friday. It was her first-career multi-goal game, and the five points also marked a career high. Nabhan scored the first two goals of the game for the Raiders on her only two shots on goal. Nabhan earns her first-career Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award, and the first for a Colgate student-athlete since 2008.

Defensive Player of the Week
ELAINE THURMAN, COLGATE Jr., D, Houston, Texas
Thurman marked Ball State's top scorer to help lead Colgate to a 3-0 shutout victory in the season opener on Friday in Hamilton. The Raider defense kept Ball State without a penalty corner in the first half and kept the Cardinals off the board after seven corners in the second half. Thurman receives the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week award for the first time, and like Nabhan becomes Colgate's first recipient since 2008.

Goalkeeper and Rookie of the Week
AMANDA DiDOMIZIO, COLGATE Fr., GK, Corlandt Manor, N.Y.
DiDomizio had an outstanding collegiate debut with 11 saves in Colgate's 3-0 shutout of Ball State on Friday. She made nine stops in the second half as Colgate scored two goals to pull away and kept the Cardinals off the board on seven penalty corners.


Patriot League Men's Soccer Weekly Awards

BRINE Offensive Player of the Week
SETH GOLDMAN, AMERICAN Jr., D/MF, Fairfax, Va.
Goldman scored against No. 15 Ohio State to forge a 1-1 double-overtime tie with the Buckeyes. He also helped the defense hold the Buckeyes to one goal over 110 minutes.

BRINE Defensive Player of the Week
PATRICK LETOURNEAU, COLGATE Jr., D, Bethlehem, Pa.
Letourneau helped the Raiders open the season with a 1-0 shutout of Syracuse. He and his defensive counterparts held the Orange without a shot in the game.

BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week
CIARAN NUGENT, LEHIGH So., GK, Canton, Mass.
Nugent made six saves, including a big save in the 62nd minute and another with 1:30 left in the first overtime, to secure a 0-0 double-overtime tie with Stony Brook Saturday.

BRINE Rookie of the Week
JIMMY McLAUGHLIN, COLGATE Fr., MF, Malvern, Pa.
McLaughlin scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Syracuse, helping the Raiders open the season 1-0.

Honorable Mention
MATT MAKOWSKI, AMERICAN Sr., GK, Quakertown, Pa.
Makowski made five saves, holding No. 15 Ohio State to just one goal over 120 minutes in a 1-1 double-overtime tie. He shut out Ohio State in the first 82 minutes of the contest.


Patriot League Women's Soccer Weekly Awards
BRINE Offensive Player of the Week
PALOMA PEREZ, NAVY So., F, Mobile, Ala.
Perez tallied a goal and an assist to lead Navy to a 3-0 blanking of Texas State in the Mids' home opener on Friday. She opened the scoring in the 16th minute and added an assist in the 82nd minute on Brittany Fruin's goal that completed the scoring. A second-team All-Patriot League selection as a freshman, Perez recorded her second-career multi-point game. She claims the Patriot League BRINE Offensive Player of the Week award for the first time this season and second in her career.

BRINE Defensive Player of the Week
HANNAH TATRO, AMERICAN Jr., D, Delmont, Pa.
Tatro anchored American's defensive unit that allowed just four shots on goal in a 1-0 win over New Hampshire on Friday. The Eagles took the lead in the 27th minute and kept the Wildcats from gaining the equalizer for the remainder of the game. Tatro, in her first season with the Eagles after transferring from Miami (Fla.), earns the Patriot League BRINE Defensive Player of the Week award for the first time.

BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week
MONICA LEE, ARMY Sr., GK, Crystal Beach, Fla.
Lee ran her shutout streak to 251 minutes by keeping Central Connecticut State off the board in a scoreless tie in Army's home opener on Friday. She made a career-high seven saves in the contest, including five in the second half and one in overtime. It was her second straight shutout and ninth in her career, and Lee now sports a 0.62 goals-against average and .900 save percentage through three games this season. The Goalkeeper of the Week award is her first this season and second in her career.

BRINE Rookie of the Week
ERIN MULHERN, AMERICAN Fr., F, Raleigh, N.C.
Mulhern came off the bench and scored her first collegiate goal to lift the Eagles to a 1-0 victory over New Hampshire on Friday. She tallied in the 27th minute on a low shot from 15 yards out set up by classmate Lindsay Muri. Mulhern finished with a pair of shots on goal. She receives the Patriot League BRINE Rookie of the Week honor for the first time.

Honorable Mentions
ALEXES LOPEZ-SHAW, NAVY So., GK, Bothell, Wash.
Lopez-Shaw made six saves to earn the shutout in Navy's 3-0 win over Texas State on Friday.

MOLLY McGUIGAN, ARMY So., D, Boulder, Colo.
McGuigan helped Army to a scoreless draw with Central Connecticut State on Friday and leads a defense that has not allowed a goal in the last 251 minutes.


Patriot League Women's Volleyball Weekly Awards

Molten Player of the Week
ARIANA MANKUS, ARMY Jr., Lisle, Ill.
Mankus helped the Black Knights open the season 3-0 with wins over Hartford, UMKC and Bryant. Mankus posted 53 kills, 30 digs and five blocks. She had two double-doubles, including a 23-kill, 10-dig performance against Bryant. She finished with a .271 hitting percentage.

Molten Rookie of the Week
MARY VACCARO, ARMY Fr., Orinda, Calif.
Vaccaro stepped into Army's starting setter role and won the Black Knights Invitational MVP, finishing with 141 assists and 34 digs. She posted two 50-assists matches, finishing with 53 against UMKC and 55 against Bryant. She also had six kills, four service aces and three blocks.

Honorable Mention
MEGAN LYNCH, HOLY CROSS Jr., Mendham, N.J.
Lynch finished with 28 kills, 22 digs and four service aces as the Crusaders opened the season with a 1-1 weekend. She posted a .282 hitting percentage and 14 kills in a 3-0 Holy Cross win over Central Connecticut.

JULIANNA CRUM, AMERICAN So., Hacienda Heights, Calif.
Crum finished with 27 kills and a .312 hitting percentage as American opened the season with a 3-1 loss to George Washington and a 3-1 win over Georgetown. She also had 25 digs and three blocks in the two matches.