UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and the Big Ten Conference announced on Tuesday afternoon that junior attacker Kelly MacKinney was named the IWLCA and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Additionally, junior goalie Sydney Manning earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and Rocquette Allen was selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
MacKinney earned both honors after a career-performance against then-No. 25 Ohio State. The New Jersey-native exploded on offense with a career-high seven goals and nine points alongside two assists in Penn State’s dominate ranked win. In the outing, MacKinney shot a spectacular 78% with only one of her seven goals coming from the eight-meter free position. Both of her assists came on even scoring opportunities and were rockets inside just outside the crease for quick stick goals. Her seven goals are tied for the third-most by any Big Ten player this season and her nine points tied Delaney Radin for the most by any Nittany Lion this season and tied for the fifth-most by any Big Ten player this year. The last time a Penn State player netted seven goals was when Gretchen Gilmore did so against James Madison in the NCAA Tournament in 2024.
Thanks to her stellar showing, MacKinney earned her the second Big Ten weekly award of her career along with her first national weekly honor. The accolade is the first time that Penn State has earned the IWLCA Offensive Player of the Week since Kristin O’Neill was named to the award after helping take down No. 1 Northwestern in 2024.
Manning earned her accolade after playing lights out against a formidable top-20 offense. The Pennsylvanian goalie faced a career-high 39 shots against the Buckeyes and tallied 12 saves, tied for her career-best against a conference opponent. Her 14 saves are one of the most by any Big Ten goalie this past week alongside a 60.9% save rate. Manning was excellent against free position attempts, being credited for a save and only allowing one past her on five opportunities. Additionally, the junior picked up a pair of ground balls in the effort. This is Manning’s fourth Big Ten weekly award of her career.
In an already astounding year for Allen, the freshman continues to add on to her already diverse skillset with the best passing game of her career thus far. Against a tough Ohio State defense, Allen netted a pair of goals to push her season total to 32, the second-highest by any Big Ten freshman and by any Penn State player. Her greatest contribution to the offense against the No. 25 Buckeyes was her ability to pass Penn State players open. Allen registered a career-high four assists on the afternoon with three of those contributing to MacKinney’s seven goal outing. The first assist by the freshman from Lone Tree, Colo., went to Delaney Radin in her seven-point game. The six points Allen tallied against the Buckeyes matched her effort against then-No. 3 Maryland last week and is the fourth time she has recorded six points during her freshman campaign. Her 47 total points are the third-most by any Nittany Lion and the most by any freshman in the Big Ten. Allen now has five Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades.
Penn State will begin three-game homestand starting on Thursday, April 9th at 8 p.m. against the Oregon Ducks on the Big Ten Network. The Nittany Lions will then host No. 4 Northwestern on Sunday, April 12th with first draw slated at 11 a.m. The Blue and White will finally welcome the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Thursday, April 16th for the team’s White Out game at 6 p.m., also on the Big Ten Network.
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