INDIANAPOLIS – Wheeling Jesuit and Mercyhurst secured Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Players of the Week recognition for the second week of the regular season on Monday.
 
WJU made a splash in its debut as an associate member, taking down Rollins, a program that was receiving votes in the USILA Poll. The Cardinals (1-0, 0-0 G-MAC) won by a score of 10-6.
 
No. 15 Mercyhurst (1-1, 0-0 G-MAC) brought down a nationally-ranked opponent, No. 12 Wingate, for the Lakers’ first win of the year.
 
Defending conference champion No. 9 Seton Hill (1-1, 0-0 G-MAC) dropped a heartbreaker in double overtime on the road at No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne as the Griffins carried a 12-10 advantage late in regulation.
 
Walsh (0-1, 0-0 G-MAC) also made its first appearance of the spring in a season-opening defeat against Lincoln Memorial.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Dereck Downs
Wheeling Jesuit
Attack
Senior
Toronto, Ontario (Hill Academy)
 
Downs scored five goals and had an assist as Wheeling Jesuit beat the Tars at home on Sunday. The senior attack is coming off a season with 38 goals and 17 assists in 14 contests and is already established as one of the league’s premier offensive threats.
 
Downs tallied a man-down goal for the first score of the second half and was credited with the eventual game winner against Rollins.
 
Downs gave Wheeling Jesuit a 3-1 lead with his first goal of the spring with 3:08 left in the first period.
 
He also closed out the game’s scoring with his fifth goal of the contest in unassisted fashion with 93 seconds left to play.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Greg Weyl
Mercyhurst
Defense
Senior
Pittsford, NY (Pittsford HS)
 
The reigning Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year was the ringleader as the Lakers carved out their first win of the spring, a big one against No. 12 Wingate.

This represents Weyl's third career weekly conference defensive honor since Mercyhurst joined the league as an associate member.
 
Mercyhurst won by a score of 6-5, a strong response to the team’s tough season-opening setback against No. 8 NYIT.
 
The 2017 USILA Second Team All-American had 27 caused turnovers and was credited with 42 ground balls last season. Versus Wingate, he recorded four ground balls and one caused turnover in all 60 minutes on the field.
 
Wingate was the No. 4 seed from the South Region in the NCAA Championship bracket last year while falling to eventual national champion Limestone in the opening round.