Despite cold, three red-hot Terriers rake in the hardware

One provides the goals; one provides the defense.

After leading the Boston University women’s lacrosse team to a 19-1 massacre of conference opponent Binghamton University on April 5 and a 13-2 victory over Harvard University on April 2, sophomore midfielder Alyssa Trudel and junior defensive wing Sasha Lang were honored by the America East. Trudel was awarded America East Player of the Week honors while Lang picked up the Defensive Player of the Week award.

While this is Trudel’s second Player of the Week award (she picked up the same honor on March 9) and Lang’s first of the 2003 season, Coach Liza Shoemaker said she expects this type of play from her two stars.

‘They both lead by example,’ she said. ‘They both have great work ethics. Their confidence has really grown as well. I think they are going to really start to step up for us.’

Trudel racked up nine total points in the two Terrier wins over Binghamton and Harvard, including a two-goal and four-assist performance against the Bearcats. She also tallied three ground balls, two caused turnovers and a game-high five draw controls in BU’s first conference game of the year. Against Harvard, the sophomore pestered the Crimson defense with two goals and one assist. She also grabbed four ground balls and one draw control while causing two turnovers.

‘As a sophomore, she is one of the natural leaders on the field,’ Shoemaker said.

This Vermont native is no stranger to the spotlight. As a freshman last year, Trudel won three Rookie of the Week awards. Currently, she leads the league in scoring, averaging 4.11 points per game, and is at the top of the BU stat sheet in draw controls (26), ground balls (21) and caused turnovers (14).

Lang led the Terrier defense in each of the games last week with a total of seven ground balls, five draw controls and two caused turnovers. As a team, BU only allowed three goals over both contests while the defensive wing scored three times against Binghamton alone. The Terriers currently sport the stingiest defense in the league, holding opponents to only 7.67 goals per game.

So far this season, Lang has 19 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers, good enough for second on the team in each category. She was also an All-Conference second team pick in 2002.

‘She has really worked to only be a fast player, but a skilled player as well,’ Shoemaker said. ‘She has been playing really well. It’s just that this week she scored.’

The Terriers (5-4, 1-0 America East) are currently enjoying a three-game winning streak as they prepare to host the University at Albany (2-8, 1-1) this Friday at 4 p.m.

The Boston University softball team has some hardware to show off this week as well.

Freshmen pitcher Erin McDonald was selected as America East Pitcher of the Week after going 2-0 with a 0.86 earned run average in three appearances. Over 16.2 innings, she gave up five hits and two earned runs, helping the Terriers to a 3-1 mark. This is the second straight week a BU hurler has won the award. Sophomore Julie Henneke claimed the honor on March 31.

McDonald pitched two complete games last week, against Fairfield University and Stony Brook University. She also teamed up with senior Tiffany Finateri to no-hit Central Connecticut State University on April 1.

Thus far this season, the Illinois native has compiled a record of 3-6 and a 3.77 era. She also has struck out 33 batters while walking 45. McDonald has also done well at the dish with a team-leading .350 batting average. She is second on the team in slugging percentage (.483) and tied with the team-lead for on-base percentage (.426).

This isn’t McDonald’s first award of the year, though. She was named to the 2003 Buzz Classic All-Tournament Team after going 4-11 at the plate (.363) over the four games, scoring one run, adding two RBIs and belting her first career home run in a game against Princeton University.

The Terriers play the University of Maine this Thursday in a double header at the Black Bears’ Niemand-Robinson Field. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.