Fake, Umano, Malamphy are USA Lacrosse Men's Players of the Week

This season, USA Lacrosse will celebrate the accomplishments of players across Divisions I, II and III each Tuesday with Player of the Week recognition. Players of the Week are selected by USA Lacrosse Magazine staff and contributors based on a variety of factors, including individual performance and impact on team success.

DIVISION I

CHRIS FAKE, NOTRE DAME

One week after we honored Brennan O’Neill in this space, now we're honoring the player who shut the Duke star down in a 1-v-2 matchup last weekend. Fake held O’Neill to 1 of 6 shooting and picked up three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Notre Dame beat the Blue Devils to reclaim the top spot in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20.

DIVISION II

TOMMY UMANO, MERCY

Mercy was pushed to the limit by an upstart Frostburg State team, and Umano was a primary reason Mercy was able to come away victorious. The two teams finished the day even on shots, but a poor clearing day gave Frostburg plenty of extra opportunities. Umano made sure they weren’t converted. With 19 saves, including seven in the first quarter, Umano stood tall. Austin Sipes and Bubba Love finished with a combined 1-for-10 shooting when they both have been primary scoring threats for Frostburg all year. 

DIVISION III

BLAKE MALAMPHY, SALISBURY

Taking down the No. 1 team starts with winning the possession battle. Against Christopher Newport and Warner Cabaniss, that’s a big ask — but Blake Malamphy was up to the challenge. He finished 18-for-25 on the afternoon, a major part of Salisbury’s win over the Captains. Malamphy had a 7-2 edge in the first quarter, enabling Salisbury to play make-it-take-it and push their lead to 6-2 in the opening frame. CNU didn’t win a single faceoff in the second quarter as Malamphy continued to dominate. All told, his dominance gave the Gulls a double-digit margin of victory in the ground ball stat and kept CNU at bay all afternoon.