UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's lacrosse sophomore Olivia Dirks was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Week on Tuesday. She set career highs in points, goals and assists in Penn State's game against Rutgers last week. Dirks earned her third Big Ten weekly award this season. She was also Midfielder of the Week on March 16 and Offensive Player of the Week on February 23.
In two games, Dirks collected seven goals, four assists, 13 draw controls, three ground balls and a caused turnover.
At Rutgers, Dirks tallied a career-high nine points. That included a career-best five goals and career-high four assists. She had three goals and two assists in the second half. Dirks also won 10 draw controls, reaching double-digits for the fourth time this season.
On Sunday against Johns Hopkins, Dirks found the net twice and won three draw controls.
In 2021, Dirks leads Penn State with 71 draw controls and 23 caused turnovers to go with 28 goals and 11 assists. She has nine multi-point games this season and four games with five or more points.
On the season, Dirks ranks eighth in the Big Ten in points (39) and ninth in goals (28). She also sits fifth in caused turnovers per game (1.4). Dirks holds 24th in the country and second in the Big Ten averaging 5.9 draw controls per game.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, begins Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday, April 29. Penn State is ranked 18th in the IWLCA Poll.
Penn State is hosting the Big Ten Tournament. It will feature three quarterfinal games on Thursday, April 29, two semifinal games on Friday, April 30, and the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday, May 2.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
