LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its first set of Women's Lacrosse Athletes of the Week. In the East, East Stroudsburg's Sadie Kauffman was named Athlete of the Week and Kutztown's Marisa Bragg and Shippensburg's Grace DeMarzio were named Co-Defensive Athletes of the Week. In the West, the Slippery Rock duo of Grace Rotter (Athlete) and Paige Jenkins (Defense) were recognized.
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Sadie Kauffman
East Stroudsburg
Attack
Sophomore
Ocean City, Md. / Stephan Decatur
Kauffman has opened the season on a tear, putting up 14 goals and an assist for 15 points as the Warriors have routed ranked opponents in No. 17 Seton Hill and No. 23 Bentley. Opening the season against the Griffins, Kauffman recorded six goals, two draw controls, a caused turnover, and a ground ball. Her tally with 4:33 remaining in the first quarter put the Warriors in the lead for the rest of the game, as she went on to score five more in the final three quarters. Against No. 23 Bentley, Kauffman outscored the Falcons by herself at home, putting the game out of reach with eight first-half goals in a nine-point outing. Kauffman opened the scoring right off the opening draw just 30 seconds in. With 3:15 remaining in the first quarter, she already completed the hat trick, and by the time the frame ended, she had five of ESU's nine goals, with all but one unassisted. In the second quarter, Kauffman continued to dominate, scoring the Warriors' next three goals, helping them hold a double-digit lead over the Falcons for the remainder of the game. Her work on draws played a factor in ESU's relentless pressure, winning possession six times to keep the ball in the offensive zone. Her eight goals set a new career-high, beating her mark of seven, which she set last season in the NCAA Tournament against Frostburg State. The 2025 PSAC East Freshman of the Year has wasted no time cementing herself as one of the top offensive threats in all of Division II in her second year, opening the season with 14 goals through two games against the No. 17 and 23 teams in the country. Kauffman's performance was also recognized by USA Lacrosse, as the organization named her the Division II Player of the Week.
Co-Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Marisa Bragg
Kutztown
Goalie
Senior
Ringoes, N.J. / Hunterdon Central
Bragg commanded the cage in No. 20 Kutztown's historic 14-1 season-opening victory over IUP, posting a 90.9 save percentage that currently leads all of NCAA Division II. Bragg turned aside 10 shots while adding five ground balls and a caused turnover in a defensive masterclass that held IUP to just one goal, only the third time the Golden Bears have limited an opponent to a single tally in program history since 2008.
Co-Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Grace DeMarzio
Shippensburg
Defense
Senior
Harleysville, Pa. / Souderton
DeMarzio was all over the stat sheet for the Raiders in a pair of season-opening victories. She has posted team highs of 14 groundballs, eight caused turnovers and seven draw controls through two games while also recording a goal and an assist. In a 9-6 win at Georgian Court, DeMarzio posted new career highs with nine groundballs and six caused turnovers – the most by a Raider player in both categories in eight years (Allison Fugate had 10 groundballs on Apr. 21, 2018; Valerie Hertz had six caused turnovers on Apr. 7, 2018). DeMarzio currently ranks second the PSAC in groundballs (14) and groundballs per game (7.0), while ranking third in the PSAC in caused turnovers (8) and fourth in caused turnovers per game (4.0).
Western Division Athlete of the Week
Grace Rotter
Slippery Rock
Attack
Senior
Beverly Hills, Mich. / Marian
Rotter led Slippery Rock to a 2-0 week with wins over a pair of conference champions and NCAA Tournament teams from last spring. She tallied two goals and handed out three assists in a home win over reigning GMAC champion Ashland and then scored three goals, including the fourth quarter game-winner, and handed out two assists to lead SRU to a 13-12 road upset at No. 5 West Chester. The win at WCU snapped the Golden Rams' incredible streak of 60 straight regular season wins that stretched all the way back to March 22, 2022. In total, Rotter scored 10 points on five goals and five assists while also pulling down 13 draw controls and causing two turnovers across The Rock's first two games of the season.
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Paige Jenkins
Slippery Rock
Defender
Junior
Bethlehem, Pa. / Freedom
Jenkins paced the SRU defense in a pair of wins over reigning conference champions and NCAA Tournament teams by leading The Rock in caused turnovers in wins over Ashland and No. 5 West Chester. She tallied two caused turnovers and two ground balls in an 18-9 win over Ashland before causing three turnovers, grabbing four ground balls and recording three draw controls in a 13-12 win at West Chester. That win snapped WCU's streak of 60 straight regular season wins that stretched back to March 22, 2022.