IOWA CITY, Iowa – Two University of Iowa field hockey student-athletes earned Big Ten Conference weekly recognition on Monday, it was announced by the league office. Junior Alex Wesneski is the Offensive Player of the Week, while senior Grace McGuire is the Defensive Player of the Week.
The duo earned the distinction after leading the Hawkeyes to a 2-0 weekend, which included a 2-0 shutout victory at No. 1 Northwestern on Sept. 23. It was the second straight year Iowa has knocked off the No. 1 ranked opponent, it snapped the Wildcats’ 12-game winning streak and it moved the team’s record to 3-0 against ranked opponents.
Iowa closed out the weekend with a 6-1 triumph at Ball State to run its road record to 10-0 dating back to the 2021 season.
Wesneski earned her first career honor after scoring three goals in the two games. She found the back of the net twice in the win in Evanston for her third multi-goal game of the season. It was also her second game-winner. The Forty-Fort, Pennsylvania, native then scored her 10th goal at Ball State on Sept. 25. She has an incredible 10 goals on just 21 shots with the 10 strikes ranking second nationally.
McGuire posted both wins in goal, including notching her third shutout of the season (and 21 career shutout) at Northwestern. The St. Louis, Missouri, native made eight saves (and faced 16 Wildcat shots) en route to the shutout. McGuire has a 0.80 goals against average and has made 29 saves this season.
The honors are the first of both Wesneski and McGuire’s careers. Iowa has earned three Big Ten weekly honors as Anthe Nijziel was named the Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12.
Iowa (8-1) will host No. 3 Maryland on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) at Grant Field.