Senior goalkeeper Haley Smith was named the final Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week of the regular season, as announced by the conference office on Monday evening.
This is the fourth time this season Smith has been recognized by the Valley with a weekly honor and the tenth time of her career. Only two other ISU student-athletes have earned four MVC Defensive Player of the Week accolades in a single season; Becky Feldmann (1997-2000) and Abby Van Deventer (2012-2015).
Smith made two saves off eight shots faced to preserve the shutout in Friday afternoon's 1-0 win over Drake. It was the ninth shutout of the year for Smith, who earlier in the season became the ISU record holder for career shutouts (26). She is ranked second in all-time shutouts in the MVC record book, only behind Missouri State's Jackie Jasper (2005-2008) who accumulated 27 shutouts in her career.
The senior has played a key role in ISU's outstanding defensive performance this season that did not allow a goal in six of seven matches in MVC play.
Illinois State is set to take on the Missouri State Bears in the MVC Soccer Championships Semifinals at 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 in Springfield, Mo.
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