Moon Township, Pa. - Junior attackman Jake Hayes (Calgary, Alberta / Central Memorial) of the Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team earned his second-consecutive Offensive Player of the Week honor from the Northeast Conference (NEC) as announced in a weekly release Monday afternoon.
Hayes earned the honor after tying the single-game school record for goals this weekend while helping RMU claim its third win of the season.
With Hayes taking home hardware in back-to-back weeks, Robert Morris has now earned league honors in each of the first two weeks of a season in three of the past four years.
Hayes, who becomes just the second active Colonial to have claimed multiple weekly honors, joining senior Kyle Buchanan (Nepean, Ontario / John McCrae), had a record-tying weekend for the Colonials and was subsequently named to the DU Face-Off Classic All-Tournament Team. Hayes netted seven scores Saturday against Air Force, including his second-career man-down goal, to tie RMU's single-game school record for goals as he became just the second Colonial ever to hit that mark in one affair. Hayes added an assist against the Falcons to also tie the school record for points in a game with eight, and he became the first Colonial ever to hit that point figure in a road game. He turned right around and added two more goals the following afternoon against nationally-ranked Denver.
Hayes' greatest feat of the weekend might have been his efficiency as his nine goals came on the minimum nine shots. He has scored on each of his last 10 shots, has notched 13 goals on 16 shots this year (.812), ranking second nationally in shooting percentage, and has collected his 34 career goals on just 44 shots (.773). Hayes finished the weekend with 10 points and added three ground balls and a caused turnover.
Hayes not only leads the team in both goals and points, but also tops the NEC in both goals per game (3.25) and points per game (4.25). His man-down goal against the Falcons is also the lone such tally scored thus far by any player in the NEC in 2012.
Hayes currently ranks 13th nationally in goals per game, and he is only one of two student-athletes in the nation to have scored seven goals in a game in 2012.
After producing three wins while playing four consecutive games away from home to start the season, RMU will finally get to play on the Joe Walton Stadium turf this Saturday, March 3 at Noon. The Colonials will open their home slate against Colgate, a team which is receiving votes nationally, as the two programs meet for the first time in Pennsylvania.
