Albany’s Merrick Thomson (Stoney Creek, Ontario/Albany Academy) has been tabbed America East Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week, while UMBC’s Cayle Ratcliffe (Victoria, Brit. Columbia/Western Reserve) garners Rookie of the Week accolades. The awards were announced Monday (March 12).
Thomson netted a season-high five goals in a 13-7 victory over Delaware, ranked 10th in the USILA coaches’ poll and 11th by Inside Lacrosse. The senior scored a pair of unassisted goals 39 seconds apart to break a 6-6 tie in the third quarter. His fifth goal of the game gave the Great Danes a 10-6 lead with 12:56 left in the final period. Thomson scored five goals for the first time since the 2005 America East Conference championship game against Stony Brook and has netted five or more goals on 10 occasions as a collegian. He currently ranks fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 183 points (139 goals, 44 assists).
Ratcliffe tied a UMBC Division I freshmen record with six goals in the Retrievers’ 11-10 double overtime win over Penn. He scored the game winner with 14 seconds left in the second overtime. Ratcliffe also scored a pair of goals against Johns Hopkins on Tuesday and has 12 goals in UMBC’s last four games.