A pair of Northwest Missouri State University women's soccer players have garnered MIAA Athlete of the Week honors for their play in a pair of shutout victories over the weekend.

Junior Lucia Fernandez (Zaragoza, Spain) took home the MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week award, while senior Kaylie Rock (Lee's Summit, Mo.) gained the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Fernandez scored two goals in a 5-0 win over Newman and helped Northwest record back-to-back shutouts on the defensive end. Against Newman in the 27th minute, Fernandez scored the first of her two goals. Fernandez found the net after receiving passes from Ekaterina Theoharidis and Teagan Blackburn on the play. Fernandez tallied her second goal on a penalty kick in the 52nd minute. Fernandez has scored three goals this season after going scoreless in 2022. It marks the third time in program history that a Bearcat has been honored as the league's top defensive player.

Rock tallied a pair of game-winning goals as she led the Bearcats to a pair of shutout wins against Newman and Central Oklahoma. Rock accounted for seven points in the two victories. Against Newman, Rock knocked in the first goal of the match in the 19th minute. She played 53 minutes and fired five shots at the Jets. On Sunday, Rock got the action started with a goal in the 30th minute with an assist from Ximena Arnau. This was only the start of Rock's big day as she recorded her second goal of the match in the 33rd minute, unassisted. Rock found the back of the net as the Central Oklahoma goalkeeper dove for a pass and Rock took advantage of the mistake to tack on another goal for the Bearcats. It is the fourth multi-goal match of Rock's collegiate career. Rock leads the Bearcats with seven goals scored this season. Rock is Northwest's all-time leader in goals scored (26), assists (22), points (74), shots (244), shots on-goal (127) and game-winning goals (8) in 69 career matches played. Rock has earned the MIAA's top offensive weekly honor three times in her Bearcat career.

The Bearcats will hit the road this week with matches at Northeastern State (Friday, 7 p.m.) and at Rogers State (Sunday, 1 p.m.)

Northwest's All-Time MIAA Player of the Week Selections
Lucia Fernandez - Oct. 17, 2023 (Defensive Player of the Week)
Kaylie Rock - Oct. 17, 2023 (Offensive Player of the Week)
Adell Gore - Sept. 12, 2023 (Offensive Player of the Week)
Lily Ellis - Oct. 25, 2022 (Goalkeeper of the Week)
Lily Ellis - Oct. 11, 2022 (Goalkeeper of the Week)
Kaylie Rock - Sept. 7, 2022 (Offensive Player of the Week)
Sydney Mueller - Oct. 26, 2021 (Defensive Player of the Week)
Kaylie Rock - Nov. 6, 2019 (Offensive Player of the Week)
Ashley Malloy - Sept. 8, 2015 (Goalkeeper of the Week)
Tammie Eiberger - Sept. 6, 2011 (Student-Athlete of the Week)
Victoria Von Mende - Sept. 13, 2011 (Student-Athlete of the Week)
Kelsey Adams - Sept. 20, 2011 (Student-Athlete of the Week)
Kira Lazenby - Oct. 13, 2009 (Defensive Player of the Week)
Andrea Tritz - Sept. 20, 2009 (Offensive Player of the Week)
Kelsey Sanders - Oct. 6, 2008 (Offensive Player of the Week)
Amanda Deml - Sept. 24, 2007 (Offensive Player of the Week)
Kayla Griffin - Oct. 9, 2006 (Player of the Week)
Alison Sheridan - Sept. 11, 2006 (Goalkeeper of the Week)
Kayla Griffin - Oct. 17, 2005 (Player of the Week)
Alison Sheridan - Sept. 12, 2005 (Goalkeeper of the Week)