Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Associate Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
GRINNELL, Iowa – The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced its Performers of the Week award recipients for games played September 30 through October 6, 2024, on Monday.
MWC sports information directors nominate student-athletes for the Performer of the Week honor by sport and vote as a committee to select the winners.
For the fall season, Performers of the Week will be recognized every week on Monday (football, soccer) and Tuesday (cross country, women’s tennis, volleyball) once their seasons have been triggered (three MWC institutions competing) and will conclude the week prior to the sport-specific Conference tournament/championship.
The Performer of the Week award winners are as follows:
Football Defensive Performer of the Week
Kevins Soivilien, Monmouth College
Kevins Soivilien had a big game on defense for the Scots in Saturday's 44-24 win over IC. He led the Scots in tackles with a career-high nine, including half a sack. Soivilien also recovered an IC fumble in the end zone in the first quarter, his second turnover of the season. The nine tackles represent a career-high and his shared sack is the first of his career in terms of both sacks and tackles for loss.
Football Offensive Performer of the Week
Jackson Bergren, Monmouth College
Senior Jackson Bergren had a monster day as the Scots knocked off Illinois College 44-24. The wideout caught 8 passes for 167 yards and 3 TD. The receptions and touchdowns are career highs while the yardage is a season high. He had a 44-yard reception down to the IC 2 on the first drive to set up the 7-0 lead. Bergren caught an 18-yard TD for a 14-7 lead and put the Scots up 21-7 with an impressive 42-yard catch and run for a TD, the final 38 yards coming after the catch. His final score virtually iced the game with a 5-yard catch for a 34-10 lead midway through the 3rd quarter.
Football Special Teams Performer of the Week
Nick Jako, Lake Forest College
Jako blocked a second quarter punt, which was recovered and returned 21 yards for a touchdown in Lake Forest's 42-0 victory over Knox on Saturday.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Performer of the Week
Andrew Swacha, Lake Forest College
Swacha posted a pair of shutouts against conference opponents last week. He made a season-high seven saves in Lake Forest's 2-0 victory over Ripon on Tuesday and four more in Saturday's 1-0 triumph over Knox. The shutouts were his second and third of the season and raised his career total to nine, which ranks tied-for-fourth in program history.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week
Anthony Vogt, Beloit College
Vogt propelled the Buccaneers to their first MWC win of the season on Saturday, scoring both goals in the 2-1 win over Monmouth. Vogt leads the team in goals with four.
Women’s Soccer Defensive Performer of the Week
Maya Alberts, Lawrence University
Maya Alberts led the Lawrence defensive effort that led to a pair of shutout wins during the week. Lawrence defeated St. Norbert 4-0 on the road and limited the Green Knights to just five shots total on their home field. The Vikings then defeated Cornell 3-0 and held the Rams to just four shots. Alberts helped the Vikings extend their scoreless streak to 370 minutes, and she scored a big goal in the final minute of the first half against Cornell to stake the Vikings to a 2-0 lead at the break.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week
Anna Hoffman, Lake Forest College
Hoffman scored three times and added an assist last week as Lake Forest defeated Ripon on Wednesday and Knox on Saturday to remain atop the league standings. She matched her career high with five points against Ripon, netting two of the Foresters' first three goals and assisting on another later in the 6-0 victory. She also headed in her eighth goal of the year less than five minutes into the second half of Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Knox.