ANNVILLE, Pa. (Conference News) – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) has announced its conference weekly award recipients for the week ending Sept. 1, 2019. A total of 19 student-athletes were recognized for performances from Aug. 30 – Sept. 1, 2019.
 
 
CROSS COUNTRY (#MACxc)
 
MAC Men’s Runner of the Week
Patrick Watson (Stevenson / Sr. / Edgewater, Md.) ran against a field of 87 runners at Division I Mount St. Mary’s 5K Duals. Watson finished fourth overall in a time of 15:40.91, the fastest 5K time in the conference through the first weekend.
 
MAC Women’s Runner of the Week
Leanne Weaver (Messiah / Sr. / Boiling Springs, Pa.) ran against a field of 73 runners at the Dickinson Light Up the Night Invitational. Weaver finished fourth overall with a time 19:04.0, the fastest 5K time in the conference through the first weekend. The senior had a 6:09 per mile pace.
 
 
FIELD HOCKEY (#MACfh)
 
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Taylor Wiederrecht (Messiah / Sr., F / Manheim, Pa.) led the No. 4 Falcons to a 5-1 victory over No. 16 Christopher Newport on opening night by scoring a hat trick. Wiederrecht scored three goals on just four shots. The senior’s first goal came just nine seconds into the game.
 
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Megan Bomba (Messiah / Sr., GK / Lititz, Pa.) made seven saves on 12 shots faced in just her second career start to lead the No. 4 Falcons to a 5-1 win over No. 16 Christopher Newport.
 
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Tyra Wingle (DeSales / Fr., F / Branchville, N.J.) led the Bulldogs to a 2-0 start while scoring five goals to begin her collegiate career. Wingle began the season by scoring all three goals in a 3-0 win over Moravian. The freshman then scored two goals in a 4-1 win over Cedar Crest.
 
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Katarina Polyviou (DeSales / Sr., GK / Cranford, N.J.) allowed just one goal over 120 minutes of action to lead the Bulldogs to a 2-0 opening weekend. Polyviou made five saves on 11 shots in a in a 3-0 shutout win over Moravian. The senior then made seven saves on eight shots in a 4-1 win over Cedar Crest. Polyviou finished the week with 12 saves and a .932 save percentage.
 
 
WOMEN’S GOLF (#MACgolf)
 
MAC Golfer of the Week
Emma VanDeCar (Stevenson / Jr. / Clifton Park, N.Y.) finished tied for seventh at the Lynn Schweizer Invitational to lead the Mustangs to a second-place team finish. The junior carded an opening-round 79 before shooting a second-round score of 82.
 
 
MEN’S SOCCER (#MACsoc)
 
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Jay Smith (Stevenson / Jr., F / Baltimore, Md.) recorded seven points on three goals and an assist to lead the Mustangs to a 2-0 opening weekend. Smith scored two important goals in a 2-1 overtime win over Neumann in the season opener. The junior tied the game with 1:27 remaining in regulation, and then scored the game-winner just 3:28 into overtime. Smith added a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over DeSales.
 
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Danny Castillo (Hood / Sr., GK / Puerto Cortes, Honduras) made 15 saves on 23 shots faced in his only game played, leading the Blazers to a 1-1 draw against Wesley. Castillo was one save shy of the single-game program record. It was the most saves in one game for the Blazers since 2008.
 
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Jacob Curtis (Stevens / Jr., D / Little Silver, N.J.) scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, as the No. 24 Ducks rallied to defeat Mitchell, 3-2. Curtis scored his first goal in the 76th minute on a header off a free kick. Four minutes later, the junior headed in a corner kick to give Stevens the lead for good.
 
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Patrick Hoffman (Misericordia / Sr., GK / St. Mary’s, Pa.) did not allow a goal in 200 minutes of action to lead the Cougars to a 1-0-1 week to begin the season. In a 1-0 win over Clark Summit, Hoffman made two saves on five shots faced. The senior then made five saves on eight shots faced in a 0-0 draw with Immaculata.  
 
 
WOMEN’S SOCCER (#MACsoc)
 
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Melissa Merritt (Hood / Jr., F / Brick, N.J.) scored a natural hat trick in a 6-0 win over Washington Adventist. Merritt scored the first hat trick for the Blazers since 2015. The junior scored all three goals in the second half, including a penalty kick in the 65^th minute of play.   
 
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Brianna Williams (Arcadia / Jr., GK / Scarsdale, N.Y.) led the Knights to a 2-0 weekend while allowing just one goal in 180 minutes of action. Williams recorded a shutout in a 3-0 win over Haverford by making four saves on eight shots. The junior then three saves in a 4-1 over Montclair State. With the two wins, the Knights won the Haverford Kickoff Classic for the third time in program history.
 
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Kendall Pearage (Misericordia / So., M-F / Bear Creek, Pa.) took part in all three goals for the No. 6 Cougars in their 3-0 win over Oneonta. Pearage scored two goals and added an assist in the season-opening victory.  
 
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Grace Schreckengast (Eastern / So., GK / Williamsport, Pa.) was impressive in her first career start. The sophomore made 13 saves on 22 shots faced to earn a 2-0 shutout win over Immaculata.
 
 
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL (#MACvb) 
 
MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week
Kristen Seibert (Messiah / Jr., S / Matthews, N.C.) was named to the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic All-Tournament Team after leading the falcons to four 3-0 sweeps over McDaniel, Salve Regina, Gallaudet and Gettysburg. Seibert recorded a double-double with 25 assists and 10 digs against McDaniel. The junior dished out 33 assists (Salve Regina), 27 assists (Gallaudet) and 37 assists (Gettysburg) over the next three matches to finish the week with 122 assists. Seibert also hit .500 with 12 kills and only two errors. She also recorded 26 digs, four aces and five blocks. 
 
MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Week
Amanda Dahlman (Messiah / Jr., L / Cedarburg, Wis.) led the Falcons to a perfect 4-0 record at the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic with four 3-0 sweeps of McDaniel, Salve Regina, Gallaudet and Gettysburg. Dahlman recorded double-dig digs in all four matches to combined for 65 over the weekend. In the final match against Gettysburg, she recorded a week-high 22 digs. She also had 17 digs (McDaniel), 14 digs (Salve Regina) and 12 digs (Gallaudet) during the week. The junior also contributed 15 assists and four aces during at the tournament.
 
MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week
Caroline Shelby (Eastern / Jr., OH / Lititz, Pa.) led the Eagles to a 3-1 weekend at the Haverford College Invitational. Shelby recorded 47 kills, five aces and four assists. The junior also added 31 digs and four blocks. The junior recorded 17 kills with four assists, seven digs and a block in a win over Wells. Shelby recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs in a win over Vassar. Against Medaille, she recorded 12 kills and eight digs.
 
MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week
Rebecca Morse (FDU-Florham / Jr., L / Farmingdale, N.J.) recorded 40 digs in a 3-2 win over Gwynedd Mercy on Saturday. Morse also added four aces and three assists in the win. The junior finished the week with 47 digs, including seven more in a match against Rutgers-Newark.