Wheeling, W. Va. - Over their last week of play, the Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team has caused 26 turnovers as they went 2-0 against Point Park and Tiffin. On Monday, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) announced their weekly Player of the Week honors and the leader of the Caused Turnover frenzy was honored. Freshman Riley Lincoln was named the G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week, after leading the Cardinal defense to a 2-0 week on the field.
Lincoln would start in both games on the defensive side of the ball and finished with seven caused turnovers and nine groundballs during the week. It brought his season total to 14 caused turnovers and 26 groundballs, propelling him to the top of the leaderboard in both categories. He would start the week with two caused turnovers against Point Park on April 1st, and added four ground balls to help the Cardinals to a 15-5 win to start the week. As the Cardinals hit the road to face Tiffin, Lincoln would account for nearly half of the team's 12 caused turnovers, finishing with five caused turnovers while adding five groundballs to round out a big week on the field.
With his five caused turnovers against Tiffin, Lincoln set a new career-high and he tied his career-high with five ground balls as well. He has now finished with multiple caused turnovers in five of his eight games played this season. With his 17 caused turnovers, Lincoln now sits just one caused turnover away from the top five, sitting one behind Lake Erie's Nicolas Shankland for the #5 spot in the conference. The freshman has stepped up and helped lead a veteran defense that has been the strenght of the Cardinals this season. Lincoln looks to continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the ball as they head into the last four weeks of the regular season.
With Lincoln earning G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors, the Wheeling University Athletic Department has now had 43 student-athletes earn Conference Player of the Week honors. He is the second Wheeling Men's Lacrosse player to be honored this season, joining teammate Landen Martin. Last week, Wheeling Women's Lacrosse Player Giavonna Perkins was named the MEC Women's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week.
The Wheeling University Men's Lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, April 8th, when they hit the road to face Frostburg State at 7 PM.
