IWLCA Players of the Week – April 8, 2025

The IWLCA has chosen nine student-athletes for the IWLCA Player of the Week awards for the week ending April 6, 2025. This weekly award recognizes the best offensive and defensive performances by players in Division I, II, III, and the NAIA each week during the regular season.

Offensive Player of the Week

Madison Taylor – Northwestern University

Taylor propelled Northwestern to a perfect 2-0 road week with dominant wins at No. 4 Johns Hopkins and Rutgers. Taylor led the team in scoring with back-to-back hat tricks, totaling nine goals for the week. She also finished tied for second with five draw controls and chipped in a pair of ground balls to keep the Wildcats on the attack. Against Johns Hopkins, Taylor posted eight points (4 goals, 4 assists), scoring or assisting on five of the team's first six goals as the Wildcats went up 6-1 in the first quarter. The junior attacker put up all eight of her points in the first half, including scoring NU’s final two goals of the frame to institute a running clock. Against Rutgers, she put up five goals and two assists for seven points, assisting on two of the team’s first three goals and netting at least one tally in each quarter to help NU cruise to another conference victory. Taylor outscored her opponents by herself in both victories, with eight points against Johns Hopkins (who scored five total goals) and seven against Rutgers (who scored six total goals). For the season, Taylor leads the nation with 6.85 points per game while sitting second nationally with 4.92 goals per game.

Defensive Player of the Week

Sammy White – Northwestern University

White’s play helped Northwestern lock down both of its opponents in a perfect 2-0 road weekend. In a homecoming trip to Maryland, White finished second on the team with three draw controls while adding three groundballs (also second). Her play also helped NU finish 24-of-28 in clearing attempts, including 17-of-18 in the first three quarters as the Wildcats took a 17-5 lead. She also added a goal and an assist for good measure offensively. In the win at Rutgers, White caused a game-high five turnovers and scooped up seven groundballs to lead all players while adding a pair of draw controls. Overall, White’s play helped Northwestern allow just 11 goals in two victories (5.5 per game) to improve on its season scoring defense figure of 7.54 goals against per game (third nationally).

Offensive Player of the Week

Sarah Urbanic – University of Colorado Colorado Springs

Urbanic earns this week’s Offensive honors after an incredible performance that included setting a program record with nine goals in a single game against Colorado State University Pueblo. She also scored both game-winning goals over the weekend, totaling 18 points (14 goals, 4 assists) across the two games. Urbanic leads the RMAC in goals per game (4.36), points per game (5.91), and shots per game (8.09). With three regular season games remaining, she currently ranks third in UCCS history for points and second for goals, just five goals shy of breaking the season record. Urbanic was also named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for her performance this past week.

Defensive Player of the Week

Katie Colleran – Concordia University St. Paul

Colleran made 11 crucial saves in a victory over Northern Michigan, allowing only nine goals on 23 shots faced. Colleran was also named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time. She is just the third goalkeeper in Concordia University St. Paul's history to receive the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Co-Offensive Player of the Week

Emily Petersen – Amherst College

Petersen scored six goals in two games as the No. 12 Mammoths won the Little Three Championship with victories over No. 6 Wesleyan and No. 24 Williams. Petersen scored a pair of goals in Wednesday's triple-overtime win over Wesleyan, including the game-tying goal with one second remaining in the fourth quarter to force overtime. The junior followed that up with four goals, including a game-tying goal to end the third quarter and the game-winner in the fourth, in Amherst's 11-8 win over Williams. Petersen also won four draw controls and picked up two ground balls for the week.   

Co-Offensive Player of the Week

Vanessa Willick – Buffalo State University

Willick was impressive in a pair of SUNYAC wins over Morrisville and Potsdam last week. In the win over the Mustangs, Willick tallied eight goals, an assist, six ground balls, and eight draw controls. In the win over the Bears, Willick added eight more goals, three assists, three ground balls, 11 draw controls, and three caused turnovers. Willick helped the Bengals reach their best record in conference play since 2009. She is currently second in program history for draw controls with 99 this season. She was also named SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Defensive Player of the Week

Bella Dintino – Franklin & Marshall College

Dintino was a force on the defensive side of the ball, helping F&M to a 2-0 week. Dintino picked up four ground balls and forced four turnovers in the win over No. 3 Gettysburg. The junior then claimed four ground balls and caused two turnovers in the victory over No. 23 Haverford. Dintino also recorded two draw controls in the win. She was also named Centennial Conference POTW.

Offensive Player of the Week

Lawna Henry – Reinhardt University

Henry delivered the game-winning goal to lead Reinhardt to a thrilling double overtime 15-14 victory over No. 4 Cumberlands. She contributed a total of three goals in the matchup. Reinhardt now ranks fifth in the latest NAIA Top 10 Poll.

Defensive Player of the Week

Madison Hasty – Reinhardt University

Hasty was named Defensive Player of the Week for her outstanding performance in Reinhardt’s double overtime win over No. 4 Cumberlands. She made eight crucial saves, playing a key role in the team's victory. Hasty faced a total of 22 shots in the matchup. This is Hasty's second IWLCA honor this season.