COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The National Field Hockey Coach’s Association (NFHCA) announced on Wednesday morning that Penn State’s Aby Deverka was named the NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week.
This is the second time the Texas-native has earned national recognition from the NFHCA with the first coming earlier this year after a 13 save weekend against Delaware and Villanova. Deverka remains the only Penn State player to win a NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week award, the first player in Penn State history to win the national player of the week twice in a single season and is the first player since Northwestern’s Annabel Skubisz to win more than one NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week award in a single season.
Deverka earned her second NFHCA and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award after shutting out the two-time reigning national champions and breaking Northwestern’s 35 game conference winning streak. The netminder secured seven saves en route the victory while playing a woman-down for seven minutes in the final frame of action and did not allow a conversion on any of the Wildcats’ three penalty corners.
Deverka’s 2026 campaign has been the best of her career. The Texas-native has recorded a career-low in goals allowed and goals against average while having career-highs in save percentage, wins and shutouts. The goalie, against Northwestern, secured her 200th career save.
Penn State opens the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio starting on November 4 at 5 p.m. where the Nittany Lions to rematch the Iowa Hawkeyes on Buckeye Varsity Field. The game will be streamed on B1G+ and more information on the tournament can be found on the Penn State Field Hockey schedule page.
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