PSU student-athletes earn Little East weekly honors

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. - On the eve of three Little East Conference spring tournaments, three Plymouth State University student-athletes were recognized by the LEC on Monday with the final round of weekly honors.

            Freshman Billy Morgan (Winchester, Mass.) was named LEC Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week, and sophomore Kalie Judd (Peabody, Mass.) and freshman Kortney Nedeau (Kennebunk, Maine) were selected LEC Women's Lacrosse and Softball Rookie of the Week, respectively.  It is the first time any of the three have received weekly honors from the LEC.

             A freshman goalie, Morgan (right) recorded a 3-0 record for the week with a 4.95 goals against average and a .657 saves percentage.  He made five saves and allowed just three goals in the first three quarters Tuesday at Castleton; he made nine stops in a complete-game effort in Thursday's 8-7 win over New England College; and he made nine saves while allowing only two goals in two-thirds of PSU's 18-5 win over Wentworth. He also collected 12 ground balls in the three games, including seven against NEC.

            A sophomore midfielder, Judd (left) played three strong all-around games for the Panthers, finishing the week with nine goals, four assists, eight ground balls, eight draw controls and five caused turnovers.  She recorded three goals, an assist, five ground balls and five draw controls against Southern Maine in PSU's only LEC game of the week.  She also had four goals and three assists Thursday against Colby-Sawyer, and she finished the week with two goals and three ground balls Saturday against Bridgewater State.

            A freshman utility player, Nedeau (right) hit safely in all six games for PSU last week, helping the Panthers to a 5-1 record (3-1 LEC).  She batted .533 with a double, a triple, two home runs, six RBI, and 10 runs scored while playing third base, catcher and/or designated player.  She also drew six walks for a .667 on-base percentage.  Nedeau went 4-for-6 with a triple and a home run Wednesday in a doubleheader sweep of Middlebury, and she reached base six out of seven plate appearances in Saturday's LEC sweep of UMass Boston, recording four walks and two hits, including a home run.

            The PSU men's lacrosse and softball teams enter LEC Tournament play this week.  The Panthers are the fifth seed in the men's lax tourney, and play a first-round game Tuesday at fourth-seeded UMass Dartmouth (4:00 p.m.)  Plymouth State is the sixth seed in the double-elimination softball tournament, and opens play Thursday at 1:00 p.m. against top-seeded Eastern Connecticut, which will host the entire event.

            The Panthers missed out on qualifying for the LEC women's lacrosse tournament, and the LEC baseball regular season ends this week with the conference tournament slated for next week. 

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