Brandt, Palomba, McDonald Named USA Lacrosse Women's Players of the Week

Without pivotal Ivy League seeding on the line, Anna Brandt stepped up when Penn needed her most.

The senior midfielder scored three times in a 15-12 win over Princeton, which was tops in the Ivy League at the time. She then followed with nine goals in an 18-10 win over a scrappy Cornell team, clinching an Ivy League tournament berth.

The nine-goal effort tied a program record. It was a special day for Brandt, who played in her final regular-season home game at Franklin Field. Brandt is the USA Lacrosse Division I Women's Player of the Week.

At 4-2 in league play, the Quakers are tied with Yale and Brown for second place, one game behind 5-1 Princeton.

DIVISION II

Maria Palomba, Saint Leo

The senior midfielder helped lead the fifth-seeded Lions back to the SSC tournament semifinals with four goals and a game-high 11 draw controls in an 11-10 quarterfinal win at fourth-seeded Lynn. 

Trailing by two at halftime, Palomba fueled Saint Leo's second-half comeback with three goals in the final 10 minutes, including the winner with 2:12 remaining. The senior leads Saint Leo with 45 goals and ranks second in the SSC with 119 draw controls.

DIVISION III

Maddie McDonald, Roanoke

The Maroons have won three games in a row, including two victories last week over Lynchburg and Eastern Mennonite. McDonald scored nearly a third of her team’s goals, getting seven against Lynchburg and six against Eastern Mennonite. 

She also won seven draw controls against the Hornets.

— Phil Shore