Oct. 8, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Kylie Licata (Mountain Top, Pa.) was awarded the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon for the first time in her career. The goalkeeper played an excellent match between the pipes in Penn State's shutout win over No. 10 Northwestern on Saturday in a 2-0 victory.
Licata turned away five shots, four in the second half, to keep NU off the scoreboard. The shutout marks the first time the Wildcats have been held scoreless all season.
The goalkeeper now leads the Big Ten in shutouts this season with five. Saturday's performance marked the second-straight match without allowing a goal. The Mountain Top native has now allowed just one goal in her last five matches combined and has recorded five shutouts in the team's current seven match winning streak.
With the award, Penn State has dominated the defensive accolades in the Big Ten. Licata becomes the third member of this year's squad to claim the award and the Nittany Lions have now captured the honor for four consecutive weeks.
Licata and the Nittany Lions will be back in action this weekend, as Penn State hosts Big Ten rival Ohio State on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. The match will kick off the homecoming weekend festivities. After hosting the Buckeyes, PSU will travel east to play intrastate foe Bucknell on Sunday at 1 p.m.