East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State goalkeeper Lyra Gavino (New Malden, England) has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28.
Gavino backstopped the Spartans to a 2-1 overtime victory over Iowa last Friday with a 10-save effort, then tied her career best in single-game saves (17) on Sunday against No. 1 Northwestern. She made 11 first-half stops to keep the game scoreless against the Wildcats overall, and faced 43 shot attempts overall in the game.
The sophomore ranks first among all Big Ten keepers in shots faced (252) and saves (97), and second overall in minutes played (997). In Conference games only, her league-leading 67 saves is nearly double Northwestern's Annabel Skubisz, who is second with 38. Her .779 save percentage in Conference games ranks third, and her shots faced (155) in B1G play is more than one-third more than Iowa's Mia Magnotta's 105.
Gavino has four double-digit save performances this season – she originally established her career best of 17 last Sunday in a tough OT road setback at Penn State, and previously had 10 both against Iowa on Friday and also in a non-conference game against Miami (10/1).
The Spartans wrap up the regular season on Friday with a road game at Indiana.
Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.
