UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's lacrosse sophomore midfielder Olivia Dirks was tabbed a First Team All-American by the IWLCA on Tuesday. Dirks collected her third All-America honor this postseason.
In May, Dirks was named a Second Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse and US Lacrosse Magazine. She was also selected First Team All-Region (West/Midwest) by the IWLCA.
Dirks tallied 31 goals, 12 assists, 25 ground balls, 78 draw controls and 18 caused turnovers to earn 2021 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year. She paced the Nittany Lions in draws and caused turnovers, while finishing second in points and goals.
The Media, Pa. native was a First Team All-Big Ten honoree and a member of the Tewaaraton Award nominees list. She was a two-time Big Ten Midfielder of the Week (3/16, 4/20) and was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on February 23. She won IWLCA Offensive Player of the Week on February 23 for her performance in leading Penn State to a win over No. 7 Maryland.
Dirks recorded 10 multi-point performances this season. She notched a career-high nine points at Rutgers (4/15) with five goals and four assists, both career bests. She also tallied six points, with five goals and an assist, against Maryland (2/21) and six points, with four goals and two assists, against Michigan (3/21).
The sophomore made a major impact in the draw circle this season, including four games with 10 or more draws. Dirks had a career-best 14 at Northwestern on March 13. She also had 12 against Rutgers (2/14) and 10 each against Northwestern (3/11) and Rutgers (4/15). Dirks also had five games with multiple caused turnovers, including four against Maryland (2/21) and three against Michigan (3/21).
Dirks paced the Big Ten and ranked 19th in the nation averaging 6.0 draw controls per game. She was also fifth in the Big Ten in caused turnovers per game (1.38), ninth in goals per game (2.38) and ninth in free-position goals per game (0.62).
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, finished the 2021 season with wins over Rutgers (20-11), No. 7 Maryland (15-13), No. 13 Michigan (13-12) and No. 9 Maryland (16-9). Penn State ranked 23rd in the final IWLCA poll.
Joining Dirks as All-Big Ten selections were attacker Maria Auth, midfielder Kristin O'Neill and defender Sammy Helgeson on Second Team. O'Neill was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
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