Indiana women’s soccer’s junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg and junior midfielder Hope Paredes received Big Ten’s weekly awards, the conference announced Tuesday. Gerstenberg took home Goalkeeper of the Week honors, while Parades was awarded Defensive Player of the Week.
The Hoosiers’ goalkeeper put forth solid numbers in two outings, tallying six saves in a 2-1 win over Illinois on Sept. 21 and three saves in a 1-0 victory against No. 18 Northwestern on Sunday afternoon. Gerstenberg now has six shutouts this season, the third most in the conference.
The Birkenwerder, Germany native provided the Hoosiers with a pair of saves against the Wildcats, which powered Indiana to their first win over a ranked opponent since 2017. The award marks the third weekly award in Gerstenberg’s career and her first since Sept. 20, 2022.
Paredes, a San Diego State transfer contributed a shot on goal against the Fighting Illini and was responsible for the decisive goal over Northwestern. Paredes praised the dedication of her teammates following the key victory Sunday afternoon.
“It felt great to score my first goal of the season,” Paredes commented. “I feel like our team works hard everyday, and we deserved [the win].”
Paredes is the second Indiana player to win Defensive Player of the Week this season, as teammate Lauren Costello took home the award earlier in the year.
The Hoosiers will look to continue their winning play Thursday when they travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
