Bucknell University Athletics
Field Hockey's Lily Neilson Collects Fifth PL Rookie of the Week Award
10/25/2021 2:00:00 PM | Field Hockey
LEWISBURG, Pa. – For a fifth time this season, Bucknell's Lily Neilson has been named the Patriot League Field Hockey Rookie of the Week after scoring her 13th goal of the season in a win over Colgate on Friday evening. Neilson has earned the honor in back-to-back weeks for a second time this fall.
Neilson scored with 5:49 remaining in the second quarter to give the Bison a 2-0 advantage over the visiting Raiders, placing a high-arcing shot from the top of the circle that went just over the Colgate keeper's reach. The Raiders would eventually come back to tie the game, but Bucknell added two more goals in the fourth quarter to secure the 4-2 victory. Neilson played 45 minutes in the win and totaled two shots.
The Australia native remains the league-leader in goals this season and is two ahead of Lehigh's Lenke Havas, who ranks second with 11. Neilson also ranks second in the league in points per game (1.8) and is ninth in shots on goal with 23.
Neilson has registered points in eight different games and has scored goals in seven of them. She totaled 15 combined points over a four-game stretch in the middle of the season and has eight points over the last three following a three-goal outing against Lehigh last weekend.
Neilson was also a Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week selection earlier in the season when she broke a school record with five goals and 10 points in a win over Holy Cross, bringing her weekly awards total to six. She's one of only three Patriot League players to win five Rookie of the Week awards since its creation in 2001.
Junior Mackenzie Kile received an honorable mention on Monday for Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals in the Colgate win. Kile is second on the Bison roster in points (17) with four goals and nine assists. She's second in the league in the assist category.
Bucknell wraps up the regular season this coming weekend with games at Lafayette and Drexel. The Bison have already clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament, and Saturday's game against the Leopards will help determine seeding.
