March 20, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State freshman midfielder Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) has been selected as the ALC Offensive Player of the Week in addition earning WomensLax.com Rookie of the Week honors. She received the conference and national recognition for her standout play in road wins over Hofstra and No. 8 Vanderbilt.
Coffey nearly accounted for 50 percent of Penn State's offense last week, scoring a total of 11 goals in helping the Nittany Lions maintain their perfect road record (5-0).
On Wednesday, in an 11-9 victory over Hofstra, Coffey netted five goals, including scoring three consecutive free position goals in the span of 34 seconds early on to provide Penn State with a 3-1 advantage. Her two goals in the final seven-plus minutes of the game stemmed a Hofstra comeback attempt and sealed the win for the Nittany Lions.
In Penn State's 12-11 come-from-behind upset of No. 8 Vanderbilt on Sunday, Coffey outdid herself with a fantastic encore performance, scoring six goals, including the game winner with 3:10 remaining in overtime. Her fifth goal of the game, scored at the 23:18 mark of the second half with the Nittany Lions down 10-5, triggered a furious rally which was capped off by her overtime heroics.
Coffey also combined to tally six draw controls, four ground balls, and two caused turnovers for the week.
Coffey currently leads Penn State (7-2, 0-1) in goals (23) and draw controls (31) and ranks second on the team in points (26) and caused turnovers (10). Her 23 goals place her third nationally among freshmen.
With their longest road stretch of the season in the books, the No. 9-ranked Nittany Lions return home to continue their non-conference schedule on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they host William & Mary (2-6) at Penn State Lacrosse Field. Last year, Penn State got goals from nine different Lions to knock off the then-No. 16 Tribe, 17-8 in Williamsburg, Va.