MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer player Karina Contreras (Pawtucket, R.I.) was named the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week for the week of October 20-26, it was announced today by the league.

Contreras becomes the second Lyon honored this season by the NEWMAC with a weekly award for women's soccer. She joins senior Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.), who was selected as the Defensive Athlete of the Week for the week of August 25-31. 

Contreras tallied the lone goal in a 1-0 shutout over visiting Babson College on October 25 to give Wheaton its first win over the Beavers since 2021. The first year found the back of the net on 50% of her shots for the week.

For the season, the forward has started all 15 matches, while scoring five goals to go with an assist for 11 points to rank third on the team. A graduate of Saint Raphael Academy, Contreras burst onto the scene for Wheaton, netting a goal and assisting on another to lead the Lyons to a 2-0 win over Regis College (Mass.) in her collegiate debut on August 31. She scored four goals in her first five matches to open the season. The Sports Management major's game-winning strike against Babson was her second of the year to place her sixth among the league leaders in game-deciding markers.

Wheaton is currently 8-7 overall and 4-5 in conference play. The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, October 29 when they travel to New London, Conn. to take on United States Coast Guard Academy in a conference tilt at 6:00 p.m.