Sept. 27, 2007

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Freshman midfielder Lauren Wuzzardo has been named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I Player of the Week. This is the second award for the rookie who was also selected as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week for her role in Villanova's 2-0 run last week.

At the time, Villanova won both of its games to extend its winning streak to four. In a 2-1 win over Rutgers on Friday night, Wuzzardo scored her first career game-winning goal to lift the Wildcats to a 2-0 mark in BIG EAST play. Villanova trailed 1-0 at halftime but tied the game early in the second half and then won it minutes later on Wuzzardo's goal.

On Sunday afternoon the Wildcats defeated Lehigh 5-2. Wuzzardo had two goals and two assists in the game to lead all players with six points. She gave Villanova its first lead of the game at 2-1 early in the second half and then scored the final goal of the contest with under 10 minutes remaining to add insurance to what was then a 4-2 lead. The two assists she recorded were also the first of her collegiate career.

Wuzzardo finished the week with three goals and two assists for eight points. Since then, Villanova also knocked off non-conference opponent West Chester University on Wednesday afternoon to improve to 7-2 for the season. Through the first nine games of her collegiate career, Wuzzardo ranks second on the team with seven goals and 16 points overall. Wuzzardo is part of a freshmen tandem (along with Meg Ryan) that has combined to lead the team with 34 points this season.