ELMHURST, Ill. - Western Illinois keeper Laura Atkinson picked up her third Summit League 'Defensive Player of the Week' award this season after helping the Leathernecks accomplish a 2-0 week on the pitch.

In the mid-week match against Drake on Wednesday (October 3), Atkinson tallied eight saves and earned her fourth shutout in net this season. Western went on to take the match by a score of 1-0. In conference play at IUPUI on Saturday (October 6), the Leathernecks extended their win-streak to five matches earning a 1-0 result. Atkinson had eight saves in the match and earned her fifth shutout.

The Oregon, Wis. native is a perfect 7-0-0 overall and 3-0-0 in conference play this season. She leads the league in several categories including: wins (7), shutouts (5), goals agaist average (0.29) and save percentage (.944).

Western Illinois returns to action this weekend at North Dakota State on Friday (October 12) and at South Dakota State on Sunday (October 14). The matches begin at 4 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

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