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 Offensive Athlete of the Week for the week of October 26 to November 1, it was announced today by the league.
Contreras is joined by sophomore Olivia King (Simsbury, Conn.) as the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week as this week's honorees for the league. The recognition gives the Lyons four weekly awards for the season, including a pair of Offensive Athlete of the Week nods to sophomore Camila Leiva (Warwick, R.I.). The haul is the highest total in a season for Wheaton women's soccer since 2012 when it was the recipient of eight awards with Cat Amick '16, Lauren Corigliano '15, Samantha Cronin '13 and Cassey Muse '13 earning top offensive weekly honors and Ali Hinton '16, Jordan Muse '13, Rachelle Rodman '14 and Taylor Wilson '16 receiving top defensive weekly accolades.
Contreras netted both goals in a 1-0-1 week for the Lyons. The forward scored the lone goal in a 1-0 shutout of visiting United States Coast Guard Academy on October 28 and was able to come away with a steal and then score against Salve Regina University to contribute to a 1-1 tie on October 31 in Norton.
For the season, the sophomore currently ranks seventh among NEWMAC leaders with eight goals and eighth with 18 points, including two assists. The Business Management major has three game-winners for the year to place her third on the league leader board.
A graduate of Saint Raphael Academy, Contreras has played in 36 career games, while making 35 starts for the Lyons. The forward has 13 lifetime markers and three assists for 29 points in addition to five game-winning strikes.
Wheaton is currently 10-4-3 overall and 7-2-2 in league play for its highest conference win total since 2017. The Lyons are currently the number three seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament and host sixth-seeded Babson College on Tuesday, November 3 at Mirrione Stadium for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff in the NEWMAC Quarterfinals.
