Earning NEC Rookie of the Week laurels in back-to-back weeks, Atkinson has been recognized as the league’s top rookie a conference-best four times this season. A local product from Franklin, MA, she racked up six points for Merrimack last week in defeats to the two first-place teams in the conference in Sacred Heart and LIU. Atkinson got her week going on Wednesday against the Pioneers by tallying four points behind the strength of her fifth hat trick of the season. On Saturday, the attacker tickled the twine twice, including a late game-tying score with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter, in a hard-fought 7-6 defeat to the Sharks in Brookville. Atkinson leads the Warriors with 13 assists, while her 22 goals and 35 points are both good for second-most on the squad.