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 23-29, 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:
Men’s Soccer Defensive Performer of the Week
Nicolas Lantzendorffer, Knox College
Lantzendorffer provided four saves in a 2-1 victory over Coe College last Tuesday, the lone Knox game of the week. Three of those saves came in the second half, one right before the Prairie Fire took the lead, and two more with the eight minutes after going up a goal. It was his second victory of the season and improved his save percentage to .745 on the year.
Men’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week
George Archer, Cornell College
Archer delivered two goals and one assist in Cornell's MWC-opening 4-0 home shutout over Beloit. The senior helped the Rams end a five-match losing streak. Archer leads the team in scoring this fall with 12 points, including five goals.
Women’s Soccer Defensive Performer of the Week
Franca Finch, Lake Forest College
Finch posted the 9th and 10th shutouts of her career as Lake Forest blanked visiting St. Norbert College 3-0 on Monday and host Grinnell College 4-0 on Saturday. She made four saves in the first victory and one in the second and was a significant part of the Forester defense's strong communication that helped lead to opponents attempting just 10 shots in the two games combined.
Women’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week
Izzy DeStefano, Lake Forest College
DeStefano accounted for both game-winning goals and three scores overall as Lake Forest defeated St. Norbert College 3-0 on Monday and prevailed 4-0 at Grinnell College on Saturday. She gave the Foresters the early lead three-and-a-half minutes into the victory over St. Norbert and added a score off a free kick at the 27:45 mark. At Grinnell she netted the first goal of the game and her team-high eighth of the season in the 49th minute.