UGA’s Sutton Earns PEARL Award

ATLANTA – After leading Georgia to a pair of two-goal victories, including a Top 10 triumph, Bulldogs sophomore netminder Stephen Sutton has been tabbed the MCLA Division I PEARL Goalie of the Week for the period ending Feb. 10.

UGA opened the weekend hosting No. 9 Boston College and thanks to the play of the Hampton Bays, N.Y., native, the Bulldogs picked up the 8-6 win. Sutton finished with 17 saves, good for a 73.9 save percentage.

On Sunday, Georgia battled Clemson and Sutton again stood tall, finishing with 19 saves (67.9 save percentage) in an 11-9 victory.

For the weekend, Sutton made 36 combined saves against just 15 goals allowed – a staggering 70.6 save percentage.

“Steve was a brick wall in cage all weekend,” said Georgia coach Holin Axley. “He earned the starting role and has played to the elite level we thought he could. He has an incredibly positive attitude and is the type of teammate anybody would want on their side.

“We're excited to watch him continue to lead our team through this season. This is the first time he's been named PEARL Goalie of the Week, but it certainly won't be the last. The team is very proud of Steve.”

For winning the PEARL Goalie of the Week honor, Sutton will receive a PEARL swag bag of goodies that will include PEARL lacrosse balls – the official ball of the MCLA.

PEARL Honor Roll

John Hennessey, Jr. – Clemson
The Acton, Mass., product helped the Tigers split against a pair of Top 10 thanks to a combined 33 stops for the weekend.

Craig Morgan, Jr. – Auburn
In the Tigers upset of No. 20 Colorado, the Peachtree City, Ga., native turned away 15 shots in the 8-7 barnburner.

Zane Schwab, Sr. – UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos went on the road to Cal and took down the Bears thanks to 12 saves (63.2 save percentage) from the San Diego product.