MWLC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK - APRIL 29
MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University women's lacrosse defender/midfielder
Christina Nelson (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS) was named Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced late Monday. It's the third MWLC weekly honor for Nelson in her career.
Nelson had a record-setting all-around week, as she recorded 31 draw controls, 15 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers, while scoring three goals with an assist, as her Auggies clinched a MWLC playoff berth for the fourth straight year with a pair of league wins, including an incredible 13-11 comeback win at Concordia-Wisconsin on Saturday.
Last Tuesday, Nelson recorded 12 draw controls with four ground balls and four caused turnovers, while scoring two goals with an assist, as
Augsburg topped Loras 20-11. On Saturday, Nelson tied her single-game draw control record with 15, while also recording six ground balls and five caused turnovers, as Augsburg rallied from a 6-0 game-opening deficit to score
a 13-11 win at Concordia-Wisconsin, clinching the final berth in the MWLC playoffs. On Sunday, she scored a goal with four draw controls, five ground balls and two caused turnovers in a
16-11 nonconference loss at Wisconsin-River Falls.
Nelson ended the regular season
leading the MWLC for the second year in a row in draw controls with 126, breaking her single-season school record of 111, set last year. Her 7.41 draw controls per-game average currently ranks 16th-best
nationally among NCAA Division III players. This season, she has 57 ground balls (ninth among MWLC players) and 47 caused turnovers (sixth among MWLC players), in addition to scoring 13 goals with six assists for 19 points.
A three-time All-MWLC first-team selection and an
Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-Great Lakes Region second-team selection last year, Nelson now holds Augsburg career records for draw controls (283), ground balls (201) and caused turnovers (176), while scoring 34 goals with eight assists for 42 points in her 71-game career.
Augsburg finished the regular season 10-7 overall, 10-3 in MWLC play -- its fourth straight double-digit win season in its six-year program history, and its second straight year with 10 wins in conference play. The Auggies are the No. 4 seed in the MWLC playoffs, and will face top-seed Hamline in a playoff semifinal game on Friday (5/3) at 11 a.m. at Hamline's Klas Field in St. Paul, Minn.
