Sheridan, Filippone collect weekly honors
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Bryant University women's lacrosse seniors Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.) and Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) were each rewarded for strong performances on Bulldogs' 2-0 week, named the Co-Player of the Week and Co-Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, by the Northeast Conference.
For Sheridan, the player of the week nod is the first of her career as the New York native scored seven times to lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back road wins over Mount St. Mary's and Monmouth. The senior also hit a major career milestone as she netted the 100th goal of her Bulldog career in a 12-10 win over the Mountaineers Thursday afternoon.
The goal was one of two on the day and came with 7:51 to play in the first half to give Bryant the 4-3 lead. Sheridan went on to score a career-high and game-best five goals Saturday at Monmouth in the team's 10-8 victory, the Bulldogs' third-straight win. Against the Hawks, the senior attacker scored three times in the opening period and added back-to-back free position goals after the break, the first of which proving to be the eventual game winner. Sheridan went 4-for-7 on free position shots on the week, including a perfect 2-for-2 against the Mountaineers. She also added a pair of ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers and currently boasts 28 goals and 32 points on the season.
Filippone earns her third NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor after winning a pair of games, as the senior played all 120 minutes between the pipes and posted an impressive 24 saves with a .571 save percentage and a 9.00 goals against average in two conference road victories.
The senior started the week with a 12-stop outing against Mount St. Mary's Thursday and posted another 12 saves two days later against Monmouth on the road. She led the team in every defensive category, picking up nine ground balls and forcing six caused turnovers on the week, including four against Monmouth.
On the season, Filippone boasts a .519 save percentage which ranks first in the conference and third in the Division I national rankings. Her 134 saves on the year are good for second-most in the nation while her 11.17 saves per game rank fourth. Filippone leads all Division I players in ground balls per game, averaging 4.33 per outing, .69 more per contest than her closest competitor.
The Bulldogs return home to Smithfield for their next two outings and will host Saint Francis (PA) Friday night (7 p.m.) before welcoming Robert Morris to the Bryant Turf Complex for a 12 p.m. Senior Day tilt Sunday.