Men's lacrosse National Player of the Week (March 6): TD Ierlan, Albany

TD Ierlan, Albany, sophomore

Victor, N.Y., faceoff specialist

In a case of whatever-you-can-do-I-can-do-better, Ierlan one-upped one of his biggest rivals. Six days after Denver senior Trevor Baptiste won 22 of 22 faceoffs and scooped up 13 ground balls against Cleveland State on Feb. 25, the 5-foot-9, 175-pound Ierlan went 24-of-24 with 22 ground balls in the No. 1 Great Danes’ 11-9 win against Cornell on Saturday. Ierlan bumped Baptiste from second place for winning the second-most faceoffs without losing one in a game in NCAA Division I history. (Sacred Heart’s Zach Smith was 25 of 25 against Hartford on April 25, 2007.) Ierlan’s 24 faceoff wins trail only Virginia sophomore Justin Schwenk’s 25 for the highest this season. Ierlan’s 22 ground balls tied Albany’s single-game record set by Zach Ornstein against UMBC on April 30, 2016.

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Duke's Nakeie Montgomery (15) celebrates after scoring on Maryland's Dan Morris, seated left, during the first half in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 college lacrosse tournament in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, May 26, 2018. (Michael Dwyer / AP)