BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, volleyball, and soccer on Monday. Student-athletes from Augsburg, Carleton, Saint Benedict, St. Catherine, and St. Olaf claimed the Conference's weekly honors.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the fall season, team sports (football, soccer and volleyball) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (cross country and golf) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.
To view each sport's 2023-24 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2023-24 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Football Offensive Player of the Week
Nathan Streiff
Carleton College
Jr. | Wide Receiver
New Glarus, Wis.
Nathan Streiff set a single-game program record with 17 receptions in the Knights’ 36-35 victory at Concordia on 9/30. His 17 catches are the most in any NCAA game this season. The junior receiver also totaled career-bests with three touchdowns and 190 receiving yards in the win. The Knights faced a 14-point deficit with 7:24 remaining and scored on back-to-back possessions - both ending in touchdown receptions by Streiff - to put Carleton in position to win the game on a two-point conversion.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Isaac Simons
Carleton College
Jr. | Linebacker
Oconomowoc, Wis. | Lake Country Lutheran
Isaac Simons collected 11 tackles (eight solo) and hauled in an interception in the Knights' 36-35 win at Concordia on 9/30. Simons' interception came in Carleton territory and led to Knights' touchdown.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Luis Miranda
Carleton College
Sr. | Defensive Back
Pomfret, Conn. | Woodstock Academy
Luis Miranda blocked a punt that sparked the Knights' 36-35 comeback victory at Concordia on 9/30. With Carleton facing a 14-point deficit and 7:24 remaining, Miranda’s play set up the first of two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Knights. Miranda and the rest of the Carleton punt coverage team allowed just 1.4 yards per return.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Emma Guest
College of Saint Benedict
Sr. | Outside Hitter
Oak Grove, Minn. | Saint Francis
Emma Guest posted 32 kills (4.57 per set) on 68 attacks with a .368 hitting mark in home victories over Saint Mary's (9/29) and St. Scholastica (9/30) last weekend. Guest logged a match-high 17 kills on 44 attacks against the Saints with 12 digs and a season-high five service aces. She also hit a career-best .542 with 15 kills, eight digs, and a pair of service aces in a sweep of the Cardinals.
MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week
Audrey Spolidoro
College of Saint Benedict
Jr. | Setter
Cottage Grove, Minn. | East Ridge
Audrey Spolidoro averaged 11.86 assists and 3.57 digs per set in a pair of home wins versus conference foes last weekend. Spolidoro collected the 29th double-double of her career with 47 assists and 17 digs against St. Scholastica on 9/30. She totaled 36 assists on 70 attack attempts for a .514 hitting mark with eight digs in a sweep of Saint Mary's on 9.29.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Ben Pennell
Carleton College
So. | Forward
San Francisco, Calif. | Lick-Wilmerding
Ben Pennell had two goals and an assist to help the Knights defeat St. Scholastica on 9/30. His opening tally was his third game-winning goal of the 2023 campaign. Pennell now has six goals in Carleton’s last five matches.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Peter Forseth
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Goalkeeper
Minneapolis, Minn. | Academy of Holy Angels
Peter Forseth stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced for the Oles in two games against nationally-ranked opponents last week. The junior logged the seventh shutout of his career by making three saves in a 1-0 win at Carleton on 9/26 before recording a season-high eight saves in a 1-1 tie against Macalester on 9/30. Forseth was seconds away from another shutout in the game against the Scots before Macalester scored with 8.8 seconds remaining.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Megan Hensel
Augsburg University
Sr. | Midfielder
Woodbury, Minn.
Megan Hensel had one goal in each of the Auggies' games in a 1-0-1 week for the team. In a 1-1 draw with Saint Benedict on 9/27, Hensel scored the game's equalizer in the 52nd minute. In a 2-1 win over Gustavus on 9/30, Hensel struck first with her fourth goal of the season to put the Auggies up 1-0 in the sixth minute.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Kate Praetz
St. Catherine University
Sr. | Goalkeeper
Bolingbrook, Ill.
Kate Praetz recorded her seventh and eighth shutouts of the season with a 2-0 victory over St. Scholastica (9/27) followed by a 2-0 victory over Saint Benedict (9/30). With the shutouts, Praetz is now in a three-way tie for the lead in Division III with eight shutouts this season. She also became the Wildcats' all-time single-season shutouts leader. Praetz made 14 saves over the two contests to improve her goals-against average to .364 for the season.