NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Carroll University sophomore goalkeeper Ava Lewandowski (Elmhurst, Ill.) has been named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week after a standout opening week that helped the Pioneers earn two draws against a challenging non-conference schedule.

Lewandowski was instrumental in Carroll's strong defensive start to the season, playing all 270 minutes across the team's first three matches while posting a 0.67 goals-against average, .909 save percentage, and 20 total saves.

The sophomore opened the season with an impressive performance against a receiving votes UW-La Crosse squad, making nine saves while allowing just one goal in a narrow 1-0 defeat. She continued her stellar play three days later in Carroll's first road match of the season, recording eight saves in a scoreless draw at Dubuque.

Her signature moment of the week came against the Spartans, when she denied two penalty kicks to preserve a 0-0 stalemate and secure the Pioneers' first draw of the season. Lewandowski closed the week with three more saves in Carroll's 1-1 draw against MSOE, helping the Pioneers finish the opening stretch of the season with two results in three matches.

Through the first week of the season, Lewandowski ranks among the conference leaders in saves while establishing herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the CCIW.

The weekly honor is the first CCIW Player of the Week award of Lewandowski's career.