Sept. 19, 2012

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – One week after six student-athletes added to their weekly awards haul, four more from the Patriot League earned weekly honors from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), it was announced Tuesday afternoon.

The four awards were split by four institutions. Tuesday’s honorees included American’s Mark Allen as ECAC Cross Country Male Runner of the Week, Fordham’s Carlton Koonce as Football Offensive Player of the Week, Lafayette’s Deanna DiCroce as Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week and Navy’s Lizzy Rullan as Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week.

Koonce, a senior, was named the Patriot League’s Football Offensive Player of the Week Monday after he carried the Rams to a 34-27 victory over Cornell. In a game filled with offense in the second half, Koonce rushed for a career-high 176 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. He carried 31 times and also caught four passes for 13 yards to total 189 all-purpose yards. Koonce cut Fordham's deficit to 14-12 with a 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, then sealed the win with a 10-yard score that put the Rams up 34-21 in the final minute. The 176-yard game is the 17th-best in Fordham history, and Koonce rushed for 121 yards in the second half alone.

DiCroce, also a senior, assisted on both of Lafayette’s goals in a 2-1 win over No. 15 Drexel on Friday, then tallied an insurance marker late in a 4-2 win over Quinnipiac on Sunday as the Leopards improved to 5-1 on the season. Lafayette scored on a penalty corner with no time on the clock in the first half and added another midway through the second half against Drexel, with DiCroce feeding the entry pass on both goals. Lafayette earned its first victory over a ranked opponent since a win over No. 21 Penn State in 2009, and the Leopards made their first appearance in the national rankings in 10 years on Tuesday when they were listed 18th in the latest NFHCA poll. DiCroce earned her first Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award of the season on Monday, and now stands alone as the all-time leader with seven career honors.

Rullan, a freshman, came off the bench and scored the game-winner in the second half as Navy completed the comeback for a 3-2 victory over James Madison Friday in Annapolis, Md. Her impressive weekend continued when she earned the start and played all 90 minutes of the Mids’ 5-0 blanking of VMI on Sunday, their third shutout of the season. The Navy defense held the Keydets to just one shot.

Allen placed first at the Navy Invitational on Saturday, running the 8K race in a time of 24:42.5 to cross the finish line nearly eight seconds ahead of teammate John Pope, the second-place finisher. The Eagles finished second in the seven-team field as Allen, a senior, ran just over a minute over the course record. He earned the M-F Athletic Male Runner of the Week award from the Patriot League for the second time in his career on Monday.

Tuesday marked the second set of weekly awards from the ECAC this fall. A total of 10 from the Patriot League have been honored thus far.

For more information on Patriot League sports, including this week’s releases, visit the Patriot League website.