Women’s Soccer

Sophomore goalkeeper Mackeznie Wood was named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week and freshman defender Danika Austin earned defensive player of the week honors, the conference announced Tuesday.

Both played critical roles in Northwestern’s 2-1 win over Iowa on Sunday. Austin scored the game-winning goal in the 97th minute, the first of her career, while Wood made eight saves total.

After the weekend, Austin now leads the Wildcats with five points and is one of four players to start every game this season. The Jenison, Mich. native was also named co-freshman of the week with Badgers freshman midfielder Emma Jaskaniec.

“It’s just an awesome feeling,” she said after leading NU to a win. “When your hard work finally pays off and you see that result and it goes through the back of the net, it’s just awesome.”

The Cats’ last freshman of the week was Wood in October 2018, who recently passed the 100-save mark in her career. After posting her tenth career shutout on the road against Nebraska last Thursday, Wood also moved into a tie for the fifth-most in program history.

She last won Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honors during her freshman campaign.

Following two consecutive conference wins, Northwestern — currently fourth place in the conference — will face Purdue at home on Thursday.

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