Big South Announces Women's Lacrosse Players of the Week - April 9
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Longwood attacker Riley McDonald (Easton, Pa.) has been named the Big South Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week, while Mercer midfielder Kayla Soltys (Gainesville, Va.) is the Defensive Player of the Week for matches played April 1-7, it was announced today. In addition, High Point attacker Kierstin Hillis (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Longwood attacker Holly Hill (Fairfax, Va.) have been named the Co-Freshmen of the Week.
McDonald combined for 16 points over two games to lead Longwood to back-to-back Big South wins. She guided the Lancers to a road win at Wofford on Wednesday with four goals and four assists, and she added five goals and three assists in a home win over Winthrop on Saturday. In addition, she added one caused turnover, one draw control and one ground ball on the week to help Longwood remain unbeaten at 4-0 through four Big South contests for the first time in a decade.
Soltys tied a Big South record with 16 draw controls in Mercer’s commanding 25-3 victory against Gardner-Webb. A graduate student, that marked a personal best for Soltys and set a new Mercer program record. She also scored one goal on one shot attempt and scooped up one ground ball. The Gainesville, Va. native controlled the draw six times apiece in each of the first and second quarters before adding another four in the second half as the Bears continued to pull away. Overall, Soltys led Mercer in winning 25 of the 31 total draw control opportunities for the game.
Hillis tallied five points on two goals and three assists in a pair of High Point wins last week. She added one caused turnover and one ground ball and was credited with the game-winner in Wednesday’s game at Winthrop. The freshman scored two goals on three shots in HPU’s 20-10 victory over the Eagles to open the week, the first two goals of her collegiate career. Hillis followed that up with the first three assists of her career on Saturday, along with one caused turnover and a ground ball, as the Panthers rolled to a convincing 20-6 win at Gardner-Webb.
Hill played a big factor in both of Longwood’s wins last week, posting a total of three goals and three assists for six points. She also added one ground ball. Hill opened play with one goal and one assist in Longwood’s road win at Wofford on Wednesday. She followed it up with two goals and two assists against Winthrop to help the Lancers win their fourth straight game and remain unbeaten through four games in Big South play for the first time in a decade.
Also nominated for Offensive Player of the Week: Sophia Buzelis (Furman), Aimie Perino (Gardner-Webb), Allie Connally (High Point), Gabby DiVirgilio (Mercer), Scarlet Cifarelli (Winthrop) and Carley Irvin (Wofford).
Also nominated for Defensive Player of the Week: Sophia Buzelis (Furman), Emma Meyer (Gardner-Webb), Esprit Cha (High Point), Julia Koenig (Longwood), Lauren Davis (Radford) and Lily Barger (Wofford).
Also nominated for Freshman of the Week: Mia Falco (Furman), Jamie Weber (Gardner-Webb) and Madison Mayer (Winthrop).