May 5, 2008

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Junior Hannah Nielsen (Adelaide, Australia/Brighton Secondary) continues to pile up the honors, being named the WomensLax.com Player of the Week. Nielsen registered 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) during the American Lacrosse Conference Championship, helping Northwestern capture its sixth-straight ALC title.

Nielsen began the weekend by scoring a season-high nine points on four goals and five assists in helping spark a second-half outpouring in NU's 15-7 victory over Penn State. She followed that up with a pair of goals and five more assists in the Wildcat's 14-3 win over Vanderbilt in the championship game. Nielsen became Northwestern's all-time assist leader against the Commodores, surpassing Lindsey Munday's mark of 128. She currently has 131 for her career, and leads Northwestern in points with 92 (39 goals, 53 assists).

Her efforts in the ALC Championship earned Nielsen her second-straight tournament Most Valuable Player award. Those will sit nicely next to her ALC Player of the Year honor which she received earlier in the week. She joins sophomore Maggie Bremer (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) as the second Wildcat to be named WomensLax.com Player of the Week.

Nielsen and the rest of the `Cats now wait to see where they will be ranked in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and who their first round opponent will be. The NCAA Selection Show begins at 7 p.m. Monday, May 5. Should Northwestern secure one of the top four seeds as expected, they will host a first round tournament game at Lakeside Field Sunday, May 11.