DP Sports Player of the Week: Sizzy Lawton

Freshman phenom Sizzy Lawton is starting to make this a weekly routine. 

Just two weeks after tallying a goal and an assist against Cornell, the freshman midfielder was able to score the game-winning goal against Dartmouth. After receiving a pass from junior midfielder Paige Howard, Lawton fired a shot into the near corner, pushing it past the keeper's hands. It was Lawton's third goal of the season, and her seven points are tied for the most by a freshman in Penn women's soccer history.

Freshmen don't often make large impacts for Division I sports teams, but the Fort Washington, Pa. native burst onto the scene early as she saw significant action against No. 2 Stanford and has been a mainstay in the Quakers' lineup ever since. Coach Nicole Van Dyke has started Lawton in three games so far this season, praising the freshman midfielder's energy and work ethic.

 Her goal against Dartmouth comes after goals against Cornell and Towson earlier in the season. Even though she is a freshman, Lawton has the third most points for the Quakers this season, and she is one of six players to play in every game this year. She also has the second highest percentage of shots on goal among Penn players who have taken more than one shot this season. 

Lawton has been particularly effective in conference play; she has six shots and five points in just four games. Given her productivity in Ivy League games so far, the Quakers will most likely rely on Lawton as they face Yale, Brown, and Princeton in the coming weeks.

Lawton and the Quakers are back in action on Monday in a nonconference matchup against Delaware State before they resume conference play and host Yale at Rhodes Field on Oct. 26.