Patriot League Women’s Lacrosse Players of the Week Announced (2.19.18)
 
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Navy and Lehigh split the four Patriot League Women’s Lacrosse Weekly Awards, as Navy senior Jenna Collins was named the midfielder of the week and senior Blake Smith was named defensive player of the week. Lehigh junior Courtney Henig earned attacker of the week, and freshman goalkeeper Samantha Sagi captured rookie of the week honors, when awards were announced by the League office on Monday afternoon.
 
Navy senior attacker Julia Collins tied a program record with 15 draw controls to go along with five points to earn a spot on the weekly honorable mention list. Colgate senior midfielder Natalie Washuta recorded her first career hat trick and Raiders’ sophomore goalkeeper made nine saves in her first career win to join Collins on the honorable mention list.
 
NAVY AND LOYOLA MARYLAND IN THE POLLS
Navy cruised to a 21-10 victory over Columbia on Saturday and move up one spot to No. 9 in the week two Cascade Women’s Division I Media Poll. They remain at No. 10 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll.  Loyola Maryland is currently receiving votes in the media poll and are No. 23 in the coaches’ poll. They are scheduled to open its season on Wednesday at Johns Hopkins.
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Holy Cross and Boston University both fell to No. 3/5 Boston College last week. The Crusaders fell 20-2 on Tuesday, before the Terriers dropped an 18-6 decision to the Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon. Lehigh pushed No. 15/12 Penn State in an eventual 14-13 loss to the Nittany Lions.
 
UPCOMING GAMES
Patriot League programs will be in action from Wednesday through Sunday with 17 games during that span. Last season’s regular-season champion Loyola Maryland will open their 2018 season when they travel across town to take on Johns Hopkins, with the opening draw scheduled for 4 p.m. There will be five other games on Wednesday, including Colgate at Siena (2 p.m.), Boston University at UMass Lowell (3 p.m.), Villanova at Bucknell (4 p.m.) and Brown at Holy Cross (6 p.m.) Army West Point’s 3 p.m. match with Central Connecticut State will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network (PLN).
 
Lafayette hosts Binghamton on Thursday in another PLN game, with the opening draw scheduled for 4 p.m., before American hosts Central Michigan on the PLN at 3 p.m. on Friday. Four League teams will be in action on Saturday, with the Black Knights at Mount St. Mary’s (noon), Holy Cross at Iona (1 p.m.), Bucknell at Wagner (1 p.m.) and Lehigh at Columbia (1 p.m.). Sunday features two more games on the PLN, with the Eagles hosting Detroit Mercy, beginning at noon, with the Leopards welcoming Temple an hour later. The Greyhounds travel to No. 4 Florida for a noon start time, while Navy hosts Michigan at 1 p.m .
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE WOMEN’S LACROSSE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
ATTACKER OF THE WEEK
Courtney Henig, Lehigh, Attack, Jr., Millstone, N.J./Notre Dame
Henig tied a career-high with seven points, tallying three goals and four assists, against No. 12 Penn State on Saturday. The junior attacker also picked up three ground balls in the 14-13 loss to the Nittany Lions. In the first half, Henig scored consecutive goals to put the Mountain Hawks in front, 5-4. She had a hand in both of Lehigh’s goals to open the second half to keep them close.  
 
MIDFIELDER OF THE WEEK
Jenna Collins, Navy, Midfielder, Sr., Clarksville, Md./River Hill
Collins stuffed the stat sheet with four goals, one assist, nine draw controls, six ground balls and two caused turnovers in the Mids 21-10 victory over Columbia on Saturday. Collins registered her second game with more than three goals and finished tied for second on the team with five points.
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Blake Smith, Navy, Defender, Sr., Sykesville, Md./Notre Dame Prep
Smith anchored a Navy defense that held Columbia to 10 goals on just 21 shots, in her team’s 21-10 win on Saturday. Smith had two ground balls and caused two turnovers, while helping the team convert 11-of-14 clear attempts.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Samantha Sagi, Lehigh, Goalkeeper, Fr., Elkridge, Md./Howard
Sagi made a career-high 16 saves with a .533 save percentage in a close loss to No. 12 Penn State on Saturday afternoon. The freshman goalkeeper made seven second-half saves, while allowing just four goals after halftime. She also picked up three ground balls and caused one turnover. Sagi has a 9.52 goals against average and .548 save percentage through two games.
 
HONORABLE MENTION
Julia Collins, Navy, Attack, Sr., Clarksville, Md./River Hill
Collins tied a program record with 15 draw controls, while also registering four goals and one assist in Navy’s 21-10 victory over Columbia on Saturday. The senior attacker was second on the team with five points, while posting her first hat trick of the season.  
 
Natalie Washuta, Colgate, Midfielder, Sr., Chatham, N.J./Chatham
Washuta recorded her first career hat trick, scoring three goals in an 11-9 victory over Vermont on Saturday. The senior midfielder also tacked on two ground balls, one draw control and a caused turnover in the winning effort.
 
Samantha Croston, Colgate, Goalkeeper, So., Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai
Croston finished with nine saves to earn her first career win in her first start, as the Raiders defeated Vermont, 11-9, on Saturday. The sophomore goalkeeper faced 28 shots. She also picked up one ground ball in the win.  
 
ATTACKER OF THE WEEK
2.12.18 – Molly O’Sullivan, Navy, Jr., A, Centreville, Pa.
 
MIDFIELDER OF THE WEEK
2.12.18 – Sondra Dickey, Lehigh, So., M, Paoli, Pa.
 
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
2.12.18– Jamie DeWitt, Bucknell, Jr., GK, Basking Ridge, N.J./Basking Ridge
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
2.12.18 – Megan Raftery, Army West Point, Fr., M, Setauket, N.Y.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.