UF Lacrosse: Gilroy, Reeg earn honors

Freshman Shannon Gilroy (Huntington, N.Y.) was named ALC Rookie of the Week on Tuesday for her outstanding play against No. 10 Penn State on Sunday. On Monday, junior Jamie Reeg was named SynapseSports.com National Defensive Player of the Week this past week for her outstanding play against No. 10 Dartmouth and No. 15 Ohio State.

Gilroy is the fifth Gator this season to earn a weekly honor from the American Lacrosse Conference, and it is the third time a Florida freshman has picked up Rookie of the Week, as classmate Nora Barry (Marcellus, N.Y.) has earned the honor twice this season. She is the fifth Gator in school history to earn rookie honors, a title which has been bestowed on the Gators seven times in the past.

Gilroy led the Gators with a career-high five goals and tied her own school record with seven draw controls to lead Florida past No. 10 Penn State, 20-11, in the ALC home opener on Sunday. The Huntington, N.Y., native went 3-for-3 on free-position shots, also a school record, and added a ground ball against the conference foe.

Gilroy currently leads the Gators and ranks 27th in the nation in draw controls, totaling 51. The midfielder, who averages 3.92 a game, is just 10 shy of the school season record of 61 set by teammate Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) in 2010.

Vanderbilt’s Kacie Connors and Northwestern’s Alex Frank earned the remaining two ALC weekly honors. Connors was named Offensive Player of the Week after scoring four goals and two assists against Johns Hopkins. She picked up one ground ball and was 2-for-3 from free position. After the Blue Jays pulled within a goal, 11-10, with 15 minutes to play, Connors assisted on an Alex Priddy breakaway goal before scoring two of her own to put the game away. The six points were a career high for the senior defender, which came just four days after putting together a five-point performance at New Hampshire.

Alex Frank helped Northwestern rally from a four-goal deficit in the second half to claim a 13-12 come-from-behind overtime win against No. 14 Ohio State on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The senior Defensive Player of the Week worked relentlessly on defense to help NU regain possession during its comeback, finishing with four caused turnovers, three ground balls and three draw controls in the game.

Reeg (Atlantis, Fla.) was named SynapseSports.com National Defensive Player of the Week this past week for her outstanding play against No. 10 Dartmouth and No. 15 Ohio State. Reeg, who was also named ALC Defensive Player of the Week, is the first Gator to be named National Defensive Player of the Week from any organization. It is Reeg’s second career nod from SynapseSports.com, formally WomensLacrosse.com, after making their National Weekly Honor Roll on Mar. 28, 2011. Reeg is the second Gator to be recognized by this organization this season, as goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) was named to the honor roll on Mar. 13.

Reeg played two solid games last week, holding her marks to just one assist and no goals, while earning five ground balls and two caused turnovers. The Atlantis native covered No. 10 Dartmouth’s second-leading scorer Kirsten Goldberg last Tuesday night, holding her to just two shots on goal and no points, adding a ground ball and a draw control. She then marked the nation’s second-leading scorer Alayna Markwordt at No. 15 Ohio State last Saturday, keeping her to just one assist and no shots on goal, while tallying four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Virginia senior Josie Owen was named National Offensive Player of the Week, and Loyola freshman Annie Thomas earn National Rookie of the Week honors. Owen tallied eight goals, six ground balls and eight draw controls in victories over James Madison and No. 6 Duke. 

Thomas, who also earned National Rookie of the Week honors from WomensLax.com, scored the game-winning goal in overtime at No. 13 Georgetown. The freshman tied her personal best with four points in the game, notching two goals, two assists, a ground ball and a draw control in the Greyhounds’ BIG EAST opener.

Additionally, Kaela McGilloway of Brown, Jenn Etzel of Denver, Rachel Serio of Johns Hopkins and Erin Fitzgerald of Northwestern were named to the weekly honor roll.

The Gators return to action on Saturday, hitting the road for Baltimore to face No. 19 Johns Hopkins. Opening draw at Homewood Field is set for 1 p.m.

Courtesy UF Communications