CAPE COD, Mass. - Joe Wright and Lyndsie Bernardini each were named athlete of the week in their respective sports by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) it was announced Tuesday afternoon. Wright picked up the Division II honor in football, while Bernardini was the Division II recipient in women's soccer.
It marks the second straight week in which the ECAC has recognized a West Chester athlete in its weekly award program. Last week Tara Malkiewicz from the women's soccer program was picked athlete of the week in Division II.
JOE WRIGHT - Sr., QB
Wright accounted for all five of West Chester’s touchdowns in a 34-26 win over C.W. Post. He completed 16-of-25 passes (64 percent) for 252 yards and four touchdowns and he also ran for a score. His two-yard TD run with 13 seconds left in the third quarter gave WCU a 21-20 lead. Then, with the Golden Rams trailing 26-21 early in the fourth quarter, he hit Dan DePalma for a 52-yard TD pass to put the Rams up for good and then six minutes later, engineered a 10-play, 51-yard drive that was capped by a 17-yard TD pass to Steve Miller that put the game away. Wright also threw two TD passes in the first half, one to DePalma and one to Miller, that put the Rams up at halftime after trailing 12-0.
Wright is second in the PSAC in passing (224.9 yards per game) and holds the fourth-best passer rating in the conference. He has completed 108 of 184 passes for 1,606 yards and 12 TDs while throwing just six interceptions. Wright quarterbacks the third-best offense in the PSAC, averaging 31.4 points per game.
A preseason hopeful for the Harlon Hill Trophy, Wright got off to a slow start, but has really stepped up in each of the past three weeks. He threw for 299 yards against Kutztown and 323 yards against East Stroudsburg before his 252-yard effort Saturday against C.W. Post. Wright has tossed 8 of his 12 touchdowns in the last three WCU games.
LYNDSIE BERNARDINI - Fr., GK
Bernardini registered two shutouts between the posts after No. 9 West Chester (11-1-1) picked up two more wins for the week. Within the two games she had seven saves while already holding the fourth best GAA in Division II heading into the week. She has now extended her consecutive scoreless string to 683 minutes and has led her team to a five-game win streak. She has recorded nine shutouts on the season, only one shy of West Chester’s single-season mark.
West Chester leads the nation in team goals-against average with a 0.18 while placing second in the country in team save percentage (.846%). On the season, Bernardini is 11-1-1 with a 0.15 GAA and a .944 save percentage. She has started all 13 games for the ninth-ranked Golden Rams and has played 1,170 of the 1,190 minutes in goal.
