March 4, 2008

American, Lehigh and Navy each had at least one student-athlete honored with a weekly award. The American defensive tandem of Brittany Finnegan and Kristine Vida won defender and goalkeeper of the week, respectively. Navy's Mary Ruttum was named offensive player of the week, while Lehigh's Lauren Dykstra took home her second-consecutive rookie of the week honors.

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Offensive Player of the Week
Mary Ruttum, Navy So., M, Annapolis, Md.
Ruttum scored five goals and recorded one assist for a total of six points in a win over Niagara. The sophomore from Annapolis also scooped up three groundballs and had one draw control. She scored three of Navy's first five goals to start the offensive onslaught, and currently has nine goals this season on just 11 shots.

Defensive Player of the Week
Brittany Finnegan, American Sr., D, West Islip, N.Y.
Finnegan helped lead a defensive unit that surrendered just nine goals in a 9-5 loss to Old Dominion last week. The senior had three groundballs in the game, and has season totals of two goals, two points, six groundballs and one caused turnover.

Goalkeeper of the Week
Kristine Vida, American Sr., Syosset, N.Y.
Vida was solid in net even in defeat last week, as the Eagles fell to Old Dominion by a score of 9-5. The senior goalkeeper allowed just nine goals against, while making 11 saves for a percentage of 0.550. She also picked up two ground balls in the game as well.

Rookie of the Week
Lauren Dykstra, Lehigh Fr., A, Mendham, N.J.
Dykstra earns her second-consecutive rookie of the week nod after tallying 10 points in two games last week. In Lehigh's 13-10 win over La Salle, the freshman scored four goals and also had one groundball and one draw control. In Lehigh's win over Saint Francis (Pa.), Dykstra once again netted four goals to help lead Lehigh to its largest victory since 1979.

Honorable Mention

Inneke Carmola, Lehigh
So., A, Amsterdam, N.Y.
Carmola scored five goals and dished out two assists in two games last week. The sophomore has 13 goals and 19 points so far this season.

Meg Decker, Navy
Fr., M, Catonsville, Md.
Decker continued her impressive debut at the collegiate level with a six-goal outing in a 21-5 rout of Niagara. Decker currently leads the Mids with 10 goals and is tied for the team lead with 11 points.

Patriot League Notebook

Season Starts Now
Five of the six Patriot League squads have already kicked off the 2008 season. Bucknell has yet to play a game under new Head Coach Caline McHenry, but will host Long Island on Wednesday afternoon to open the `08 campaign.

Newcomers
The Patriot League welcomes two new head coaches this year. Caline McHenry takes over at Bucknell, while Cindy Timchal will be starting her inaugural year as head coach at Navy. McHenry was a standout student-athlete at Duke University, where in 2005 she was a First-Team All-American and a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is awarded annually to the top player in the nation. Timchal enters her 26th season of coaching, after splitting the first 25 between Northwestern University and the University of Maryland. At Maryland, Timchal led her teams to seven-consecutive and eight overall national championships, and is currently the all-time wins leader in Division I history with 338.

All-Time Leader
With her second two goal, three assist performance in as many games this season, Lafayette senior Madalyn Booth has moved into first place on the Patriot League's Career Assists List with 99 for her career. Booth sits just outside the top-10 for career points with 187, and is also within reach of the top-10 list for career goals with 98.

2008 Patriot League Tournament
The 2008 Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Championship will once again use the two-day format that gives a day of rest in between the semifinals and the championship game for the top four teams in the Patriot League. The tournament will be held at the highest seed on Friday, April 25 and Sunday, April 27.

Team Notebooks

American
The Eagles hosted Old Dominion this past weekend, and were upended by a score of 9-5. Leading the way offensively for the Eagles was junior attacker Gina Ibello, who notched two goals on the afternoon. Senior goalkeeper Kristine Vida allowed just nine goals on 20 shots faced. American hosts Towson on Tuesday afternoon.

Bucknell
The Bison were set to open their season last Wednesday against No. 16 Penn State, but the game had to be postponed due to inclement weather. Bucknell opens their season Wednesday.

Colgate
The Raiders suffered two defeats last week, losing 16-7 at home to Cornell and 18-3 on the road at No. 16 Penn State. Senior Lindsay Pittard leads the team with 10 goals on the season, while teammate Brie Moran is a close second with nine. The Raiders return to action on Saturday afternoon when they host Holy Cross in the League opener for both teams.

Holy Cross
The slow start to the season continued for the Crusaders, as they dropped their third game on the road at New Hampshire, by a score of 16-7. Nikki Bolduc led the offensive attack for the Crusaders as she netted her first two goals of the season in the loss. Freshman Meg O'Leary scored one goal and also picked up a groundball. The Crusaders open League play on Saturday afternoon at Colgate.

Lafayette
The Leopards dropped to 0-2 on the season after a loss at Ivy League foe Columbia, 19-9. Senior Madalyn Booth recorded her second two goal, three assist game of the season to lead the `Pards, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Lions. Booth moved into first place on the Patriot League Career Assists list with 99 in her career.

Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks continued their impressive start to the `08 season with two more victories last week. Lehigh defeated La Salle by a score of 13-10, and followed that with a 23-3 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) The 20-point margin of victory was the highest since 1979. Inneke Carmola continued to lead the offensive attack for the Mountain Hawks as she recorded three goals and an assist against Saint Francis (Pa.) and two goals and an assist against La Salle. Freshman Lauren Dykstra had a 10-point week for Lehigh, as she scored four goals in each game, and had two assists in the Saint Francis (Pa.) game. Lehigh hosts Lafayette in the League opener on Saturday afternoon.

Navy
The Midshipmen were dealt with a great hand on Saturday afternoon, as they racked up 21 goals for the second-consecutive game to defeat Niagara by a score of 21-5. Freshman Meg Decker scored a game-high six goals for the Mids, and also scooped up five groundballs. Sophomore Mary Ruttum also tallied six points on the afternoon with five goals and an assist. Navy will hosts Saint Francis (Pa.) in a make up game on Tuesday afternoon.