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, Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, Saint Benedict, 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.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week archive has complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Football Offensive Player of the Week
Jack Curtis
Carleton College
Sr. | Quarterback
Charlotte, N.C. / Ardrey Kell
Jack Curtis tossed six touchdown passes and threw for a career-best 478 yards as the Knights defeated Macalester, 51-7, on 9/20 to maintain possession of the "Book of Knowledge" trophy. Curtis completed 25 of his 34 pass attempts, finishing with the fourth-best single-game yardage performance in program history. His six passing touchdowns in the game are tied for the second-most in Carleton history.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Alec Mahoney
St. Olaf College
So. | Safety
Mahtomedi, Minn. / Mahtomedi
Alec Mahoney recorded a team-high eight total tackles (five solo), 1.0 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and the game-sealing interception for the Oles in a 17-16 victory over Concordia on 9/20. His forced fumble came with the Cobbers approaching the red zone in a 3-0 game late in the first quarter. With St. Olaf clinging to a one-point lead and 1:00 remaining in the game, Mahoney picked off a first-down pass to secure the Oles' first win over Concordia since 2011.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Owen Forsythe
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Punter
Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee
Owen Forsythe tied a program record with 11 punts in the Gusties' loss to Bethel on 9/20. His 443 punt yards in the game are the most ever by a Gustavus punter and rank third all-time in MIAC history. Forsythe averaged 40.3 yards per punt, booting one kick longer than 50 yards and placing three inside the 10-yard line. His punt yardage total for the game is tied for second in NCAA Division III for a single game this season and ranks eighth across all NCAA divisions.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Evelyn Kreft
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Outside Hitter
Becker, Minn. / Becker
Evelyn Kreft registered a team-high 33 kills (3.00 per set) while hitting .212 on the outside in the Oles' 3-0 weekend at the Carleton/St. Olaf Invitational on 9/19-20. Kreft had a career-high 15 kills and hit .355 in a five-set win over national vote-getter UChicago on 9/19 before adding 13 more in a sweep of No. 1 UW-Whitewater on 9/20.
MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week
Sophia Rubio
Bethel University
Fy. | Setter
Woodbury, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran
Sophia Rubio totaled 95 assists (11.88 per set) and orchestrated the Royals' offense to hitting percentages of .239 and .205 in victories over Lakeland and UW-Stevens Point on 9/20. Rubio posted 48 assists against Lakeland and 47 against UW-Stevens Point at the Pointers' home invitational on 9/20. She added 25 digs, four kills, and four service aces for the weekend.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Mizael Harris
Augsburg University
Sr. | Forward
Happy Valley, Ore. / La Salle Catholic College Prep
Mizael Harris scored four of the Auggies' five goals in a pair of victories over MIAC opponents last week. Harris scored the lone goal of the game at the 9:49 mark in Augsburg's 1-0 home win over national vote-getter Gustavus on 9/17. On 9/20, he claimed the second hat trick of his career with a three-goal effort in the Auggies' 4-1 win at Saint Mary's. Harris scored his first goal just 5:37 into the game, then scored goals in the 51st and 65th minutes to give the Auggies the lead.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Christian Hodges
Augsburg University
Fy. | Goalkeeper
New Albany, Ohio / Tree of Life Christian School
Christian Hodges totaled 12 saves with one goal allowed in a pair of MIAC wins for the undefeated Auggies last week. Hodges made eight saves in a 1-0 shutout against national vote-getter Gustavus on 9/17 and added four more stops with a goal allowed in a 4-1 win over Saint Mary's on 9/20.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Avery Soli
College of Saint Benedict
Jr. | Forward
Ham Lake, Minn. / Blaine
Avery Soli registered a pair of two-goal games to help the Bennies to victories over Bethel (9/20) and UW-Stout (9/21). Soli tallied the first and third goals in a 3-0 win over the Royals before scoring twice and assisting on a third goal in a 5-2 win over the Blue Devils. The first of Soli's two goals against UW-Stout came on a penalty kick in the first half.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Avery Trapp
Carleton College
Jr. | Goalkeeper
Barrington, Ill. / Barrington
Avery Trapp posted a goals against average of .558 in a 1-0-1 week for the Knights. Trapp recorded a career-high seven saves in Carleton's 1-1 draw at regionally-ranked St. Olaf on 9/16. She then worked the first 71 minutes of the Knights' shutout victory over Hamline on 9/20.