Kayla Peterson named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week

March 17, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Against Stanford a week ago, midfielder Kayla Peterson had a career day with the first hat trick of her young college career.

On Sunday, against No. 9 Penn State, she outdid herself with three more goals and set two more personal bests with two assists and three ground balls. Two days later, she was rewarded with her stellar play and was named the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week.

Peterson, a 5-foot-10 freshman from Hagerstown, Md., came off the bench against Penn State – as she did against No. 11 Stanford – and scored all three goals in the second half. Two came in succession late in the second half as she helped the Commodores close the gap in a 17-10 loss to the Nittany Lions. Both assists came in the last 44 seconds, including one on a goal by twin sister Leah Peterson with seven seconds left.

Through seven games, Kayla Peterson leads all VU freshmen with seven goals, four assists, 11 points, seven ground balls and six draw controls. Peterson and the Commodores (3-4) get back to action at noon on Wednesday with a road contest at No. 10 Louisville.