IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa seniors Maddy Murphy and Lokke Stribos earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors, it was announced Monday by the league office. Murphy is the Co-Offensive Player of the Week, while Stribos is the Defensive Player of the Week.
It is Murphy’s second honor of the season and third of her career, while it is Stribos’ first career honor.
The duo earned the distinction after leading top-ranked Hawkeyes to a pair of road victories at No. 6 Rutgers and No. 7 Maryland. The wins were the Hawkeyes’ fourth and fifth consecutive victories over top-seven ranked opponents (and sixth and seventh victories over nationally-ranked foes) this season. The triumph in College Park was the first in program history.
Murphy accounted for five points on the weekend to lead Iowa’s offensive charge. The Riana, Tasmania, native scored the Hawkeyes’ second goal in the win in Piscataway before scoring the game-winner – her second of the season — in the fourth quarter against Maryland. She also tallied an assist on Leah Zellner’s first strike – her sixth assist on the year.
Murphy shared the honor with Penn State’s Sophia Gladieux.
Stribos, a senior from Brussels, Belgium, was a key cog in a Hawkeye defense that allowed just two goals and limited Maryland and Rutgers to just eight shots on goal on the weekend. The Hawkeyes’ remarkable consecutive shutout streak came to a halt against the Scarlet Knights, ending at 561:03 minutes.
With the two road wins, the Hawkeyes improved to a perfect 12-0 this season – the program’s best start since 1992 when it won its first 20 games en route to an NCAA runner-up finish.
Iowa has earned Big Ten weekly honors in three consecutive weeks and four times this season. Murphy was the Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 30, while senior Anthe Nijziel earned Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 20 and Sept. 28.
The Hawkeyes continue on the road this season, traveling to the state of Michigan for games against Michigan State on Friday and Central Michigan on Sunday.
