Complete WAC Release
DENVER, Colo. - Trying to make a splash in her final season, Makenna Gottschalk has been off to a hot start to begin her senior campaign. She currently is third in the conference in saves (20), and now has some more hardware to add to her collection.
In a release issued by the WAC Tuesday afternoon, Gottschalk was awarded the WAC Defensive Player of the Week. Grand Canyon's Gianna Gourley Jr. (Forward) earned the WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week after recording her conference-leading fifth and sixth goals of the season.
This is the third time Gottschalk has earned the honor in her career. The last time came last season on October 4, 2021, after she recorded nine saves in two games against Seattle U (5) and California Baptist (4). Her first time winning the award came during the spring 2021 season after she recorded a career-high 11 saves in a 2-1 victory over Grand Canyon on March 3, 2021.
Now, Gottschalk is coming off a week that saw her record five saves, stretching across two shutout wins against UTEP and Portland State. One against the Miners and four against the Vikings. The last time NM State recorded back-to-back shutout wins was August 26, 2017, after beating New Mexico and Grambling State 1-0.
These last two games are the fourth and fifth career shutouts for Gottschalk. Her last shutout came in a 1-0 game against California Baptist on October 3, 2021.
Quotable
- Gottschalk on wining her third WAC Defensive Player of the Week Award:
"Winning this award means a lot because our mentality is to not let the other team have any chances on goal and it just shows that we're achieving that which ultimately helps us to win games."
- Gottschalk on the defensive success and continuity:
"We have such a solid back line and even with changing up our formation to a 3-back everyone has stepped up to make it happen. We can communicate really well with each other on and off the field which helps us all to play as one."
- Gottschalk on what to expect from the team as conference play approaches:
"Lots of winning! We're coming in hard this season to some talented competition that we will be competing with every game. We have a lot to prove and we plan on doing that for all of our fans and community! Aggie up!"
