Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/28/09
Drexel’s Colin Ambler (Abington) was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week after the midfielder scored two goals and added two assists in the Dragons’ 10-8 victory over Delaware. The win secured the team a berth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championships while knocking out Delaware.
Ambler scored a man-up goal with 2:21 remaining in the second quarter to give the Dragons a 5-4 lead heading into halftime. He recorded assists on two earlier goals in the back-and-forth game.
After Delaware took the lead in the third quarter with two scores, Ambler notched his second of the day with just 55 seconds remaining in the period to knot the game heading into the fourth quarter. The goal was his 20th in 2009 marking the third time in as many years that the junior has recorded 20 or more goals in a season. He is the team leader in both goals and points.
Ambler and the Dragons will travel to Towson, Md. on Wednesday for a CAA Quarterfinal game with Towson. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Penn sweeps Ivy League awards
Penn’s Emma Spiro and Emily Szelest swept the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week awards, respectively, in the Ivy League. Spiro scored her fifth hat trick of the season against Northwestern, helping Penn hold a lead at half-time. It was the first time this season the Wildcats had trailed at the half. Spiro was efficient, scoring on every shot she took and collected one ground ball. The goals gave her 30 points on the season and set her as the fourth leading point-scorer on Penn’s roster. Her 27 goals are second-best on the team.
Penn goalie Szelest had the unenviable assignment of quelling a potent Northwestern attack. The top-ranked Wildcats entered the game averaging nearly 19 goals a game and the junior keeper kept them to just 11 – the lowest output of the season for the women from Evanston, Ill. Although the Quakers fell, 11-9, in the rematch of the 2008 National Championship, Szelest and the Penn defense still boast the lowest goals-against average in the country at 5.25.
Messiah’s Dirksen (Abington) is womenslacrosse.com Division III Rookie of Week
Messiah freshman attack Rachel Dirksen (Abington) was recently named the womenslacrosse.com NCAA Division III Rookie of the Week, the second such award from the enitity this season.
Dirksen helped Messiah to a 3-0 week, putting up 14 points along with 13 draw controls and seven ground balls. She had four goals in a key 14-12 win over Eastern University, as Messiah set up a Wednesday meeting against Elizabethtown College to determine the regular-season MAC champion.
Messiah is 12-4 overall and finished 10-1 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. The second-seeded Falcons receive a bye in the first round of the MAC playoffs and will play in the semifinals Thursday. Dirksen leads the team with 52 goals and 27 assists.
