Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. –Senior captain Casey Howard has been selected as the National Player of the Week by WomensFieldHockey.com for the second time this season after leading the No. 11 ranked University of Delaware field hockey team to the Colonial Athletic Association championship last weekend.

Howard is now the first player in the nation to garner the award twice this season.

Last weekend, while leading the Hens to their first conference title since 2004, Howard earned the CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player award for her performance in the playoffs. She guided the team to victories over James Madison in the semifinals and Drexel in the championship bout.

Along with guiding a defensive effort that allowed just one goal during the two games, she also chipped in with a pair of assists to lead the team’s offensive charge. She set-up Rachel Schexnayder’s goal that eventually led to a 2-1 overtime victory against the Dukes before assisting on Amanda McCardell’s game-winner against the top-seeded Dragons.

The weekly award is just another item to add to a long list of accolades for Delaware’s standout forward. This season, she has already earned first-team All-CAA honors and was selected as both the conference and national player of the week on September 28. Howard has been chosen to participate in the prestigious NFHCA Senior All-Star Game as well.

During her final year in Newark, Howard has already set new single-season records with 22 goals and 51 points. Her five-goal performance against Brown earlier this year also eclipsed the program’s previous single-game scoring record, while her 51 career goals are third most all-time.

Along with Howard, the staff at WomensFieldHockey.com selected Virginia’s Charlotte van den Broek as the Rookie of the Week. Eight players were also selected to the weekly honor roll, including Michigan State’s Joelle van Ierland, who will face Delaware on Saturday.

In addition to Howard’s two selections this year, fellow Blue Hen Amanda McCardell also was selected as the National Player of the Week on October 5. Delaware is the only team to have multiple award-winners in 2009.