Nov. 4, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern senior goalkeeper Kendra Mesa (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) has been named the Big Ten Field Hockey Defensive Player of the Week. Mesa earned the honor after posting a pair of shutouts last weekend.
The senior goalkeeper guided the Wildcats to their first conference win of the year in a 1-0 defeat of Indiana, as Northwestern earned the tie-breaker edge over the Hoosiers to nab the sixth seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
Mesa followed that performance with four saves in a 3-0 triumph over Colgate to give NU six victories on the year, tripling the team's total of two wins from a year ago.
She is the second Wildcat to earn weekly Big Ten honors this season, as teammate Candice Cooper was selected on the offensive side of the ball on September 23.
Mesa has recorded 32 saves in nine games this season for a 3.56 saves-per-game average. Her 1.56 goals against average ranks sixth in the Big Ten.
Northwestern will be seeded sixth in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio this weekend. The Wildcats will open the tournament Friday against third-seeded Penn State.