IRVING, Texas – Senior defender Olivia Fitzgerald has been selected as the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the conference office Monday morning following a pair of strong performances against LSU and Morehead State this week.
Fitzgerald's selection marks the first time since WKU joined Conference USA that the Lady Toppers have had multiple players of the week in a single campaign, joining Chandler Backes' Offensive Player of the Week honor last Tuesday. This is also the first time that WKU has had a player of the week in consecutive weeks since Chandler Clark and Iris Dunn in 2013.
The honor is the first of Fitzgerald's career and the first for a WKU defensive player since Megan Morris captured the honors on Oct. 5 last season. The Carmel, Ind., native has started all seven matches this season and has played 625 out of a possible 646 minutes while anchoring the center of the Lady Topper defense.
Following LSU's sixth-minute goal on Thursday evening, Fitzgerald has led the defense on a 174-minute scoreless streak, including a 2-0 shutout of Morehead State on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Toppers have collected two shutouts in their first seven matches and have held opponents to three shots on goal or fewer on four occasions.
Fitzgerald was strong in the air across both matches, especially on set pieces that saw her have several chances on goal off headers. The senior nearly scored twice against the Eagles on headed efforts that pushed Morehead State's goalkeeper into action, while another chance against LSU went just wide of the post.
The Lady Toppers will be back in action to begin C-USA play on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. as the team travels to Huntington, W. Va., to clash with Marshall. WKU leads the all-time series 2-1 against the Thundering Herd, but dropped a 2-0 decision in Bowling Green last season.
Season tickets are available online at WKUSports.com or by phone at 1-800-5-BIGRED. A $25 flexible ticket package is available that includes all five remaining regular season home matches against Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee, UAB, UTSA and Old Dominion.
For more information on WKU Soccer, visit WKUSports.com or follow the team via social media @WKU_Soccer on Twitter and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUAthletics.
