For Immediate Release
Monday, August 29, 2022
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#30 Ashley Hewitt (F, 5-10, Sr., Cottage Grove, Minn. / Woodbury HS) - Winona State
- Scored two goals, including the game winner in a 4-2 win over East Central 
- Tallied four points on three shots overall on the weekend
- Played 99 minutes over the two contests 

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#4 Mary Meeks (D, 5-7, So., Boise, Idaho / Rocky Mountain HS) - UMary
- Led UMary to a pair of 2-0 shutout wins at the Rimrock Classic
- Allowed just 12 shots, five on goal, in the two wins
- Limited Black Hills State to four total shots in the season opener
- Held MSU Billings to eight total shots with one on frame
- Scored the insurance goal in the 60th minute of win over tourney host MSU Billings

NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week
#00 Alexus Townsend (GK, 5-5, So., Omaha, Neb. / Gross Catholic HS) - Northern State
- Led NSU to a pair of shutout victories against MSU Billings and Black Hills State
- Recorded a total of 12 saves during the weekend, with nine saves against MSUB 
- The shutouts were her eighth and ninth of her career
- Marked the third time that she earned a pair of shutouts in one weekend

Other Top Performances
OFFENSE
Grace Douglas (AUGIE) scored Augustana’s first goal of the season in a 1-1 draw against Fort Hays State. She logged one shot on goal in the game. 
#6 Taylor Meyrick (UMary) posted a goal and an assist as the Marauders opened the season with a pair of 2-0 wins at the Rimrock Classic. She sealed the Marauders win over Black Hills State with a 35 yard blast in the 86 minute and posted the lone assist on the Marauders game-winning goal with a beautiful pass from the midfield in the 21st minute.
#8 Alyssa Pavlacic (UMC) scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute Sunday against Waldorf. The goal was her first as a Golden Eagle and sent UMC to its first season-opening win since 2016.
#13 Jacqueline Jares (UMD) scored both goals in UMD’s matchup against Michigan Tech. The goals came only seven minutes apart in the second half, the second goal being scored with only four seconds left in the match. 
#10 Brynn Desens (MSU) led the Maverick offense with a goal and an assist for three points last weekend. Her goal on the 80th minute against Missouri Southern put the Mavericks up 3-1. She assisted on the first goal vs. Missouri Southern.
#24 Megan Fastenau  (NSU) led the Northern State offensive attack to a pair of shutout victo-ries this weekend against MSU Billings (1-0) and Black Hills State (1-0). She led the Wolves offense in shot attempts (4) and shots-on-goal (2) against MSUB and BHSU. She scored the game-winning goal against Black Hills State, her first goal of the season. Her game-winner against the Yellow Jackets was the sixth of her career.
#27 Rachyl Benavides (UIU) scored her first collegiate goal in the first half of Upper Iowa’s victory over Rockhurst. The Peacocks won 1-0 in Fayette behind the freshman’s breakaway goal.

DEFENSE
#28 Lilja Davidsdottir (NSU) led the Northern State defense in a pair of shutout victories this past weekend against MSU Billings (1-0) and Black Hills State (1-0). Against MSUB she played the full 90 minutes of game time as the Wolves held the Yellowjackets scoreless on 17 shot attempts and nine shots-on-goal. Against BHSU she played 73 minutes of game time as the Wolves defense shutdown the Yellow Jacket offensive attack, allowing only four shots and three shots-on-goal.
#27 Bailey Deininger (WSU) anchored a Warrior defense that led WSU to a 2-0 start to the sea-son. She logged nearly 150 minutes between the two games. She started both contests for the Warriors and helped shutout Nebraska - Kearney, holding UNK to four shots on goal. 

GOALKEEPER
#1 Madisyn Waltman (UMary) led the Marauders to a pair of shutouts as she broke the UMary career record for shutouts with her 26th in a 2-0 win over Black Hills State, stopping all four shots she faced. She played into the 83rd minute of a 2-0 win over MSU Billings, registering one save on the eight shots. Over the course of 171:53 the 2x All-NSIC 2nd team goalkeeper made five saves without allowing a goal.
#0 Jamie Kirkvliet (UIU) made six saves in UIU’s 1-0 win over Rockhurst on Saturday. The freshman keeper posted her first shutout behind great defensive play from her back line.
#1 Chloe Swanson (WSU) went the distance in goal in a pair of Warrior wins to begin the sea-son 2-0. She earned her first career shutout in WSU season-opening 3-0 win over UNK. She made nine saves overall on the weekend. She earned the victory in both contests, playing the full 90 minutes in each as she became the first Warrior GK since 2016 to go 2-0 to start the year.

2022 NSIC Soccer Players of the Week
8/29/22
O: #30 Ashley Hewitt  - Winona State
D: #4 Mary Meeks - UMary
GK: #00 Alexus Townsend - Northern State