March 30, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
P enn State women's lacrosse midfielder Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon by the league office.
For Coffey, the honor is her first Big Ten weekly accolade and the third for the Penn State (8-3, 1-0 Big Ten) roster this season. Coffey tallied nine points on six goals and three assists during a 2-0 week against No. 9 Stanford (17-15) and Rutgers (15-8). Coffey connected on all six of her shots, collected four ground balls and caused four turnovers.
Against No. 9 Stanford, Coffey scored three goals and an assist, where Penn State came back from five goals down in the second half to win. Coffey's two-way play aided in the tremendous comeback, as she caused four turnovers and scooped up four ground balls in the upset victory. Two of Coffey's three goals came in the deciding 10-3 run to end the game.
In PSU's inaugural Big Ten game, the New Jersey native was again perfect from the field, scoring on all three of her shot attempts, while pitching in with two assists. Coffey's back-to-back goals to open the second half sealed PSU's win by giving the Nittany Lions an eight-goal cushion. Coffey was a part of five of Penn State's first 12 goals.
Currently, Coffey is second on the team in goals (20), assists (6) and points (26), while tied for the team's lead in caused turnovers (13). Coffey shares the weekly award with reigning Tewaaraton Award winner, Maryland's Taylor Cummings.
The 12th-ranked Nittany Lions continue Big Ten play at home on Saturday against No. 18 Ohio State at 6 p.m. The nationally-televised game on Big Ten Network will honor the careers of Penn State's seniors, including Coffey. Both teams are 1-0 to begin conference action.