SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Jacksonville’s Jack Dolan and Mercer’s Ashton Wood have been named the first Southern Conference men’s lacrosse offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for the 2021 season. The awards are selected by the league office and include all action to date.
 
Dolan scored five goals and recorded four assists through the Dolphins’ first two games of the season. Against SoCon foe Bellarmine in a nonconference meeting on Wednesday, Dolan scored three goals and added three assists for a six-point day as JU opened the 2021 campaign with a 19-8 home win. Dolan scored his three goals on just four shots and added four ground balls on the day. Three days later at No. 2 North Carolina, the redshirt junior midfielder from Columbus, Ohio, had two goals and an assist, adding another three ground balls on the day. For the week, Dolan scored on 55.6 percent of his shots (5-for-9) and put seven of his nine shots on frame (77.8 percent). His 4.5 points per game rank 15^th among NCAA Division I player so far this season, while his 2.0 assists per game are good for 11^th and his 2.5 goals per game are 26^th.
 
Wood and the Bears also opened their season against Bellarmine in a nonconference contest, falling to the Knights 9-7 on Jan. 30. Wood was outstanding at the faceoff X in the losing effort, winning 18 of his 19 attempts, with his .947 success rate good for second-best in a game in SoCon history. The junior from St. Augustine, Florida, who is the SoCon’s career leader in both faceoff winning percentage and ground balls per game, had a game-high 11 ground balls on the day. In the Bears’ 17-4 win over Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 6, Wood went 17-for-21 in faceoffs (.810) and again had a game high in ground balls with 10. At No. 1 Duke on Saturday, Wood once again paced both squads with eight ground balls and went 15-for-28 (.536) in faceoffs. His 9.67 ground balls per game are third in NCAA Division I on the young season, while his .735 faceoff winning percentage ranks fourth.
 
Dolan and Wood both earned SoCon weekly honors for the fourth time in their careers.
 
Coincidentally, Jacksonville (1-1) and Mercer (1-2) are back in action against each other on Saturday for a neutral-site, nonconference meeting in Savannah, Georgia, at 6 p.m. Eastern.
 
Other offensive nominees: Asher Nolting (High Point).
 
Other defensive nominees: Eric Rubak (Bellarmine), Clayton Kroll (High Point), Nathan Kapp (Jacksonville) and Jack Rusbuldt (Richmond).
 
2021 Southern Conference Men’s Lacrosse Players of the Week
Offense
Feb. 16    Jack Dolan, R-Jr., MF, Jacksonville
 
Defense
Feb. 16    Ashton Wood, Jr., FO, Mercer