INDIANAPOLIS – University of Missouri-St. Louis junior midfielder Laura Hurlbut and University of Wisconsin-Parkside senior defender Emily Konior have been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week in women’s soccer, it was announced by the league office Monday.
Hurlbut earns her second weekly honor of the season (Sept. 8) and her career after netting two game-winners in the Tritons’ 2-0 conference weekend at Illinois Springfield and Southern Indiana this past week. At USI on Friday, Hurlbut scored the game-winner on one of her three shots to help jumpstart UMSL to a 3-0 victory. On Sunday, the Leawood, Kansas, native found the back of the net first in the Tritons’ 2-0 win at UIS. Hurlbut leads the team and currently ranks tied for third in the conference with four goals on the year.
Konior helped the 23rd-ranked Rangers finish the weekend undefeated and claim the top position in the GLVC standings. She was on the field for 178 of the 180 minutes played over the weekend, anchoring a defensive unit that posted a road shutout and yielded just three shots on goal all weekend. The shutout was the squad’s fifth of the season as UW-Parkside has allowed just one goal all season. The Huntley, Illinois, native played the entire game in the Rangers’ 2-1 upset of No. 20 Rockhurst in Kansas City on Friday while playing all but two minutes in the squad’s 4-0 shutout of William Jewell on Sunday. Additionally, Konior notched a goal against William Jewell, scoring on a free kick in the 47th minute in her only shot attempt of the weekend. The weekly honor is the first of Konior’s career and the first for a Ranger defender since teammate Karley Mecko was recognized by the league back earlier this month on Sept. 8.