NEWTOWN, Pa. (Conference News) – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) has announced its conference weekly award recipients for the week ending October 6, 2024. A total of 18 student-athletes were recognized for performances from Sep. 30, 2024 to Oct. 6, 2024.
CROSS COUNTRY (#MACxc)MAC Men’s Runner of the Week
Rory Lieberman (Lebanon Valley / So. / Danville, Pa.) finished 22nd overall out of 373 runners in the white race of a stacked Paul Short Run on Saturday. In a race that had 11 nationally ranked teams and 35 teams that were ranked in their respective regions, Lieberman led the Dutchmen to a 15th-place finish with a time of 25:09.7 on the 8000-meter course. Lieberman and LVC had the top finish in the MAC and the Mid-Atlantic Region in the race.
MAC Women’s Runner of the Week
Autumn Garges (Lebanon Valley / Jr. / Coopersburg, Pa.) ran a career-best 6,000-meter time of 22:45.7 to finish 87th overall out of 387 runners in the white race at the Paul Short Run on Saturday. In a race that had 12 nationally ranked teams and 41 teams ranked in their respective regions, LVC finished 30th and was the second of four MAC teams in the race.
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Emma Gladstein (Stevenson / Gr., F / Sykesville, Md.) led the Mustangs yet again with a four goal, nine point week. In Tuesday's 7-0 win at Lancaster Bible, Gladstein assisted on the Mustangs' first goal by Coco Wallace then scored two goals of her own back-to-back. Against No. 2 Salisbury, she scored both of Stevenson's goals. So far this season, Gladstein sits atop the MACC statistics in goals (15), assists (8), and points (38).
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Belle Fields (York / Sr., GK / Centreville, Md.) had another strong week as the #8 Spartans went 1-1 for the week. In York's close 1-0 loss at #2 Salisbury on Wednesday, Fields recorded five saves as she allowed just a single goal to the Gulls who are averaging over four goals per game. It's the sixth time this year that Fields has notched five saves or more. Against Misericordia, Fields picked up her 39th career win. She is two wins short of tying the Spartan school record for career goaltending wins. The 3-0 shutout win over the Cougars also extended her school record to 22 career clean sheets. For the year, Fields is 8-3 with a 0.71 goals against average in 672:11 of play. She has a .846 save percentage with 44 total saves.
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Maddie Trocki (DeSales / Sr., F / Whitehall, Pa.) had a record-breaking week leading DeSales to a 1-1 record. She opened the week with three goals in the 5-1 win over Kean University in which she broke the all-time record for goals and points at DeSales becoming the all-time leading scorer in Bulldogs history. On Saturday she had one goal and two assists in a 5-4 loss at Marywood University giving her four goals and two assists on the week.
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Mel Mercado (Lebanon Valley / Sr., D / New Holland, Pa.) anchored the defense that posted two shutout wins this week and allowed just 10 total shots and six shots on goal. In a 4-0 victory at Juniata, LVC held the Eagles to seven total shots with just three being on goal. The Dutchmen were able to successfully defend nine penalty corners in the squad's fifth shutout win of the year. LVC then dominated Gwynedd Mercy on Saturday 5-0 where the Griffins were held to three total shots that all came in the final seconds of the game. The Dutchmen had a 32-3 shot advantage and 21-0 advantage in penalty corners. Mercado also recorded her first career point with an assist on LVC's fifth goal.
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Dominic Flowers (Alvernia / Gr., F / Wyomissing, Pa.) three points in a 0-1-1 week for the Golden Wolves. In a 2-2 tie with Scranton on Wednesday, Flowers assisted on Ryan Cogill’s equalizing goal with 45 seconds remaining in regulation. Flowers then scored Alvernia’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to York on Saturday.
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Jake Bono (York / So., GK / Marlboro, N.J.) had another outstanding week as he led the Spartans to a 2-0 week as York remained unbeaten on the season. In Wednesday's 1-0 win over Salisbury, Bono made three saves in his second full shutout of the year. Salisbury had a dangerous flurry in the 30th minute of the match. The Spartans committed a foul just outside of the box giving Salisbury a dangerous shot. Gavin Miller's free kick was stopped by Bono, a sprawling save to his right. The ball went over the end line as Salisbury got a corner kick. On the corner, Connor Pyles hit a header off the crossbar and the rebound went to Tristan Brannock and Bono made another great save to keep the game scoreless. On Saturday in York's 2-1 win over Alvernia in the MAC Commonwealth opener, Bono made five saves in keeping the Golden Wolves in check. He improves to 7-0-3 for the Spartans. For the year, Bono has played 887:29, allowing seven goals for a 0.71 goals against average and a save percentage of .829 with 34 saves.
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Steven Warren (Arcadia / Sr., D / Schwenksville, Pa.) scored three goals against Gwynedd Mercy to help the Knights get a 6-2 win earlier in the week. Warren added another goal to his resume when the Knights beat King's College 2-0 on Saturday afternoon to open conference play.
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Jimmy Shensky (DeSales / Fy., GK / Philadelphia, Pa.) led DeSales to a 2-0 record last week recording a pair of shutout wins in goal. He made three saves in the 2-0 win over Albright College on Wednesday and had five saves in the 2-0 win over Delaware Valley University on Saturday. Shensky faced 15 shots over the two games. He now has six shutouts on the season and a 0.39 GAA.
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Meg Kalthof (York / So., F / Bel Air, Md.) had a great week to lead the Spartans to a 2-0 week including a win in their MAC Commonwealth opener against Alvernia. Kalthof began the week with a goal and an assist in the Spartan mid-week win over Lebanon Valley in a MAC crossover match up. Kalthof scored the Spartans' first goal in the 17th minute. She then assisted Gabby Jennings goal in the 59th minute as York took a 2-0 lead. On Saturday against Alvernia, Kalthof tied the game in the 21st minute with an unassisted goal. She then notched a key insurance goal in the 83rd minute as the Spartans improved to 7-2-3 and 1-0 in the league. For the week, Kalthof scored three goals and had an assist for seven points in the two victories. For the season, Kalthof leads the Spartans in scoring with five goals and four assists for 14 points with one game-winning goal. Kalthof's 14 points leads the MAC Commonwealth while her five goals are second and her four assists are tied for first.
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Brenna Ellenberger (Hood / Sr., GK / Baltimore, Md.) took on 15 shots and made six saves to keep the Bullets out of goal in a 0-0 draw. The opening conference match featured two saves and resulted in another save for the Blazers. Ellenberger has kept the Blazers out of the loss column with her defensive efforts at the net.
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Emma Ribeiro (DeSales / Sr., F / Fairfield, N.J.) helped DeSales post a 1-1 record last week breaking the single-game scoring record with four goals and three assists in the 8-1 win over Delaware Valley University on Saturday. She tied the record for goals in a game with four and broke the record for points in a game with 11, adding three assists in the win over the Aggies.
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Ashlyn Crawford (King’s / Jr., GK / Gilbertsville, Pa.) totaled 11 saves and allowed two goals for a 1.00 goals against average and a .846 save percentage. She opened the week with 6 saves in a 2-0 setback to Lycoming before recording 5 saves in a 1-0 shutout win in their MAC Freedom opener at Arcadia on Saturday.
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Rachel Lenz (Stevenson / Fy., OH / Arlington, Va.) had a strong two matches on Saturday in a tri with Lebanon Valley and Drew. Had 39 kills across three matches with 21 against the Flying Dutchmen on Saturday.
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Caitlin Lielbriedis (Messiah / Sr., OH / Lancaster, Pa.) had two strong performances during the 2-0 week for the Falcons. Lilebriedis tallied 27 digs as the Falcons Libero in the win over conference rival Stevenson University. Lielbriedis put together a 19-digit performance against Neumann University to cap off the week.
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Taylor McInerney (Lebanon Valley / Gr., OH / Annville, Pa.) had 4.09 kills per set and 45 total kills with a .347 hitting percentage for the Dutchmen in 11 sets this week. The outside hitter began the week with 11 kills and a .333 hitting percentage in a 3-0 sweep of FDU-Florham to even the team's conference record at 1-1. She then had 34 kills in a tri-match at Stevenson on Saturday. McInerney had 17 kills with a .357 hitting percentage in a tough 3-2 defeat at Stevenson and then had 17 kills with a .343 hitting percentage in a 3-0 defeat to Drew.
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Grace Wilson (Delaware Valley / Sr., L / Quakertown, Pa.) totaled an impressive 72 digs during a 1-1 week for the Aggies. Tallied 36 digs with just three errors in the 3-1 win over King's to mark the Aggies first conference win of the season. Went on to total another 36 digs in the 2-3 loss to Cairn also making only three errors in the contest. Also added a season-high five assists in the contest at Cairn. The 36 digs mark a new season-high for the senior.
