BURNSVILLE, Minn. - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference released their weekly release and Concordia-St. Paul freshman Maddison Balashaitis was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. 

Balashaitis earns her first career NSIC Player of the Week accolade and becomes the fourth Golden Bears soccer player to earn the honor this season. 

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#26 Maddison Balashaitis (D, 5-9, Fr., Ankeny, Iowa / Ankeny Centennial HS) - Concordia-St. Paul
- Led a defense that allowed just four shots on goal in wins over USF and SMSU
- Played 94-minutes over the weekend
- Tallied three shots and two shots on goal
- Scored her first collegiate goal in the 6-0 win over SMSU
- Helped lead a defense that has now recorded shutouts in its last three matches

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#14 Sarah Strating (F, 5-7, Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn. / Centennial HS) - Winona State
- Scored two goals in wins over SMSU and USF
- Notched the game-winning-goal in both matches
- Tallied 10 shots on the weekend, with four on goal
- Picked up one assist against USF to finish with five points on the week

NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week
#99 Abigail Rounds (GK, 5-8, So., Mundelein, Ill. / Mundelein HS) - Winona State
- Led the Warriors to shutout wins over SMSU and USF
- Had seven saves on the weekend, including four against USF
- Faced five corner kicks of the two matches

Others Under Consideration
OFFENSE
Grace Kittel (Bemidji State)
- In just 68 minutes of action, recorded five points off two goals and an assist
- Came off the bench in both matches at Northern State and Jamestown
- Recorded all five points in Sunday's 6-0 victory over Jamestown
- Posted a career high in goals (2) and points (5)
- Tied for the team lead with four shots on goal
Ava Hopper (Concordia-St. Paul)
- Scored her first collegiate goal in the 6-0 win over SMSU
- Recorded two goals to record her first collegiate multi-goal game against the Mustangs
- Was just the second Golden Bear to record a multi-goal game this season
- Helped CSP clinch their spot in the NSIC Soccer Tournament
- Played a season-high 22 minutes on the pitch on Sunday
MaLiah Burke (UMary)
- Posted a pair of goals and an assist as the Marauders earned 4 big points in the NSIC stand-ings
- Scored the game-winning first and third goal in the Marauders 4-0 victory over MSU Moor-head
- Assisted on the Marauders lone counter in a 1-1 draw with UMC as she set up her sister Maicee for the goal
- Has points in five of last six games - including three straight - with a total of two goals and five assists during this 3-week run
Addison Clarey (Minnesota State)
- Led the Mavericks' attack with two goals in wins over Augustana and Wayne State
- Scored the a goal Friday's 2-0 victory over Augustana that wrapped up the regular season title
- Added another goal in Sunday's 4-2 win, totaling four points across the two matches
Sabrina Amezcua (Minot State)
- Led the Beavers to a pair of wins with a goal in each contest
- Has a team-high nine goals on the season, which ranks tied for 3rd most in the NSIC
- Added a pair of assists on Sunday in a 4-1 comeback win over visiting MSU Moorhead
Ellie Primerano (St. Cloud State)
- Had five points (2g/1a) in SCSU's weekend sweep over WSC and Augustana
- Matched a single game career-high with two goals against Wayne State
- First goal was also the game-winning goal 
- Ranks 10th all-time in program history with 17 career goals
- Moved to sixth place on SCSU's all-time scoring list with 52 points (17g/18)

DEFENSE
Williams Quinn (Winona State)
- Recorded the most time on defense for the warriors this weekend
- Was a key contributor to the clean sheets on the Warrior defense
- Allowed 10 shots to USF with only four on goal
- Limited SMSU to five shots with only three on goal

GOALKEEPER
Sonia Alfieri (Bemidji State)
- Went 2-0-0 over the weekend with victories at Northern State and Jamestown
- Shutout the Wolves and then combined with Payton Kropp to shutout the Jimmies Sunday
- Made three saves over the weekend in 143:24 minutes
McAlpine Lauren (Minnesota State)
- Earned two wins over the weekend
- Recorded a shutout against Augustana with six saves 
- Posted a 1.000 save percentage in Friday's 2-0 win
- Finished the weekend with 12 saves and two goals to help the Mavericks stay unbeaten

Women's Soccer Pages
AUGIE | BSU | CSP | UJ | UMARY | UMC | UMD | MSU | MSUM 
MINOT | NSU | USF | SMSU | SCSU | WSC | WSU

2025 NSIC Soccer Players of the Week
9/8/25
O: #21 Virginia Pruitt – SMSU 
D: #19 Anna Van Wyngarden – Minnesota State
GK: #1 Kaycee Chavez – Minnesota Duluth 
9/15/25
O: #12 Katrina Barthelt - Bemidji State
D: #36 Maclayne Menzel – Minnesota State
GK: #77 Payton King – Minnesota Crookston
9/22/25
O: #9 Elaina Shromoff - Minnesota Duluth
D: #27 Courtney Kovacs  - Minnesota State
GK: #0 Alexa Hofstetter - Wayne State
9/29/25
O: #13 Anna Miotto - Minot State
D: #17 Mila Rustin - Minnesota State
GK: #1 Rebecca Sargent - Minot State
10/6/25
O: #28 Brooke Nelson - Concordia-St. Paul
D: #11 Reese Hilsenbeck – Minnesota State
GK: #00 Jaylee Strickland – St. Cloud State
10/13/25
O: #17 Sophia Haase – Concordia-St. Paul
D: #27 Clare Snapko  – Concordia-St. Paul
GK: #1 Kadyn Dilger – University of Mary
10/20/25
O: #12 Katrina Barthelt - Bemidji State (2)
D: #15 Avery Nelson - Augustana
GK: #0 Lauren McAlpine - Minnesota State
10/27/25
O: #24 Olivia Gardner - University of Mary
D: #19 Anna Van Wyngarden – Minnesota State (2)
GK: #0 Lauren McAlpine - Minnesota State (2)
11/3/25
O: #14 Sarah Strating - Winona State
D: ?#26 Maddison Balashaitis - Concordia-St. Paul
GK: #99 Abigail Rounds? - Winona State

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men's league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women's league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 27 team national championships and crowned 122 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA's three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org. 
 
 

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