UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's lacrosse sophomore midfielder Olivia Dirks was selected as a Second Team All-American by US Lacrosse Magazine. Dirks continues to collect postseason accolades. Earlier this week, Dirks was named First Team All-Region by the IWLCA.
Dirks, the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, registered 31 goals, 12 assists, 25 ground balls, 78 draw controls and 18 caused turnovers in 2021. She paced the Nittany Lions in draws and caused turnovers, while finishing second in points and goals.
She was a First Team All-Big Ten honoree and an Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-America Third Team selection. Dirks was a member of the Tewaaraton Award nominees list. She was a two-time Big Ten Midfielder of the Week (3/16, 4/20) and was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on February 23. She won IWLCA Offensive Player of the Week on February 23 for her performance in leading Penn State to a win over No. 7 Maryland.
The Pennsylvania native collected 10 multi-point performances this season. She recorded a career-high nine points at Rutgers (4/15) with five goals and four assists, both career bests. She also tallied six points, with five goals and an assist, against Maryland (2/21) and six points, with four goals and two assists, against Michigan (3/21).
The sophomore made a huge impact in the draw circle this season, including four games with 10 or more draws. Dirks had a career-best 14 at Northwestern on March 13. She also had 12 against Rutgers (2/14) and 10 each against Northwestern (3/11) and Rutgers (4/15). Dirks also had five games with multiple caused turnovers, including four against Maryland (2/21) and three against Michigan (3/21).
Dirks led the Big Ten and ranked 19th in the nation averaging 6.0 draw controls per game. She was also fifth in the Big Ten in caused turnovers per game (1.38), 10th in goals per game (2.38) and ninth in free-position goals per game (0.62).
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, are 4-9 this season with wins over Rutgers (20-11), No. 7 Maryland (15-13), No. 13 Michigan (13-12) and No. 9 Maryland (16-9).
Joining Dirks as All-Big Ten selections were attacker Maria Auth, midfielder Kristin O'Neill and defender Sammy Helgeson on Second Team. O'Neill was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Follow along with the Nittany Lions by following our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
