SPARTANBURG, S.C. – High Point attackman Connor Robinson and Jacksonville goalkeeper Hunter Sells have been named the Southern Conference men’s lacrosse offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition from March 20-26. The awards are selected by the league office.
Robinson repeated as offensive player of the week after another career day in a 15-12 loss at Richmond on Saturday. A week after matching his career high with four goals and setting a new mark with six total points, the senior from New Westminster, British Columbia, scored a career-best five goals and notched an assist to match the six-point standard. All six of Robinson’s points came in the second half as Robinson tried to rally the Panthers from a 5-2 halftime deficit. The league’s top goal-scorer notched his first of the contest midway through the third quarter and added another with just over a minute left in the period to make it a 9-7 game. Robinson then rattled off three more goals in the fourth quarter to run his season total to a SoCon-best 25 goals. His score just seconds into the final period was his third of the game, extending his school and SoCon records for consecutive games with a hat trick to six.
Sells allowed just five goals and picked up nine saves to lead the Dolphins to a 9-5 win over Bellarmine and their first-ever 2-0 SoCon start on Saturday. The Knights’ five goals were a season low for any SoCon opponent this season. Sells, a junior goalkeeper from Bethesda, Maryland, faced 31 shots on the day and posted a .643 save percentage en route to his fourth win of the season. The Johns Hopkins transfer, who stopped several point-blank shots on the day, kept Bellarmine off the board on two extra-man opportunities and scooped up a season-high seven ground balls, helping the Dolphins maintain their standing in a pair of categories in which they rank nationally, as they are sixth in man-down defense (.815) and fourth in ground balls (35.00 per game). Sells is second in the SoCon with a 9.83 goals against average.
High Point (1-7, 1-1 SoCon) and Jacksonville (4-4, 2-0) return to action Saturday when they square off against each other in High Point, North Carolina, at noon Eastern.
Other offensive nominees: Trey Lervick (Air Force), Jarrett Birch (Furman), Dwayne Mattushik (Jacksonville), Pascal Coombs (Mercer) and Ryan Lee (Richmond).
Other defensive nominees: Jeremiah Hemme (Air Force), John Hulsman (Bellarmine) and Alec Van de Bovenkamp (Furman).
2018 Southern Conference Men’s Lacrosse Players of the Week
Offense
Feb. 13 Hunter Forbes, Jacksonville
Feb. 20 Nick Hruby, Air Force
Feb. 27 Jeremy Winston, Jacksonville
March 6 Brian Wall, Bellarmine
March 13 John Daniel, VMI
March 20 Connor Robinson, High Point
March 27 Connor Robinson, High Point
Defense
Feb. 13 Trent Harper, Air Force
Feb. 20 Blake Goodman, Richmond
Feb. 27 Dixon Smith, Jacksonville
March 6 Kevin Fahey, Bellarmine
March 13 Braden Host, Air Force
March 20 Alec Van de Bovenkamp, Furman
March 27 Hunter Sells, Jacksonville
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