IWLCA Players of the Week – May 2, 2023

The IWLCA has chosen seven student-athletes for the IWLCA Player of the Week awards for the week ending April 30, 2023. This weekly award recognizes the best offensive and defensive performances by players in Division I, II, and III. No NAIA selections were made due to no NAIA games last week.

Offensive Player of the Week

Ellie Masera – Stony Brook University

Masera led the No. 10 Seawolves to their first Colonial Athletic Association regular season title after taking down Hofstra University, 18-6, last Friday. She recorded career-highs in assists (4), points (9), and caused turnovers (5) to go along with her five goals in the match. She also matched her season-high in draw controls (10) and leads the CAA in goals, points, and draw controls per game. This Thursday, the Seawolves will compete in the CAA Tournament in Towson, Md. as the No. 1 seed and will face the No. 4 seeded University of Delaware in the semifinals.

Co-Defensive Player of the Week

Carolyn Carrera – University of Vermont

Carrera’s six caused turnovers in Vermont’s 13-5 win over UMass Lowell gave her 56 total on the season, setting the America East Conference single-season record, AE conference play record, and UVM single-season record. Third-seeded Vermont will face No. 2 Binghamton University in the America East Semifinals this Thursday in Albany, New York. 

Co-Defensive Player of the Week

Sam Thacker – University of Denver

Thacker tied a career high with six caused turnovers in No. 3 Denver’s 12-5 win over No. 24 Marquette University, helping the Pioneers to the Big East regular-season championship. The six caused turnovers were tied for the seventh-most in a game in program history and two shy of the record (8). Thacker’s defensive efforts, along with her teammates, held MU's NCAA third-ranked offense to its lowest goal output of the season and the first time in single digits all year long. The senior defender currently leads the team with 45 caused turnovers, is second with 42 ground balls, and is tied for third with 29 draw controls. The Pioneers stretched their winning streak to 17 games, tied for the longest in program history, and remain the only undefeated program in Division I. As the No. 1 seed, Denver will face fourth-seeded Villanova University in the semifinals of the Big East Conference Tournament this Friday.

Offensive Player of the Week

Lindsay Monigle – West Chester University

Monigle helped No. 1 West Chester cap an undefeated regular season with six goals and 10 assists in two victories last week. Monigle scored once and registered five assists in the team's final home game against Kutztown University last Wednesday. She topped that off with five goals and five assists in the season finale at Millersville University on Saturday. Monigle's 10 points against the Marauders tied her single-game career high. At Millersville, she fueled a five-goal spurt at the end of the first quarter, scoring three times and assisting on another. The Golden Rams have earned a bye into the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship and will await their opponent from the quarterfinals this afternoon.

Defensive Player of the Week

Paige Crandall – Le Moyne College

Crandall registered a 7.43 goals against average, 20 saves, and a .606 save percentage in No. 6 Le Moyne's 2-0 week. She made seven saves (against five goals) in 45:00 minutes of play in a 20-9 win over Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday. She tallied a season-high 13 saves in a 15-8 victory over No. 25 Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday. The second-seeded Dolphins take on No. 7 seed Assumption University this afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast 10 Conference Championship.

Offensive Player of the Week

Emily Willms – Otterbein University

This past week, Willms broke two program records for draw controls (206) and all-time points (226). She led all players with five goals in Otterbein’s 12-11 win over Ohio Northern University and followed up with another five-goal performance in the 12-7 Ohio Athletic Conference quarterfinal win over Marietta College, where she became the Cardinal’s new all-time scoring leader. She added one assist to each matchup and totaled eight draw controls between the two games. The Cardinals take on Mount Union in tomorrow night's OAC Semifinal.

Defensive Player of the Week

Mindy St. Marie – Keene State College

St. Marie was named the Little East Conference Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 10 ground balls and eight caused turnovers, to go with six goals, four assists and 10 draw controls in a 2-0 week for the Owls, leading them to the No. 4 seed in this week’s conference tournament. She caused four turnovers while tallying seven ground balls, four draw controls, two goals and two assists in a 16-9 win at UMass-Dartmouth before notching six draw controls, four caused turnovers, three ground balls, four goals and two assists in a 17-1 triumph over Rhode Island College. The Owls secured the No. 4 seed in the LEC tournament and will host No. 5 Eastern Connecticut State University in tonight’s quarterfinal round.