Mauch, Baker Sweep GLVC Women’s Soccer Weekly Honors

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. | Great Lakes Valley Conference – McKendree University women’s soccer comes off a weekend sweep, improving to 6-0-4 and 6-0-1 on the season behind two outstanding performances from sophomore forward Maddie Mauch and junior goalkeeper Peyton Baker, winning the players the GLVC’s Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors, as announced by the league on Monday. Mauch and Baker helped lead their squad to fifth and sixth-straight victories over the weekend as Mauch scored three total goals and Baker provided two more clean sheets in full time in goal for the Bearcats. McKendree sits atop the GLVC standings as they head into a road weekend across St. Louis against Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville on October 10 and 12. 

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Maddie Mauch | Sophomore | Forward 
Maddie Mauch, a sophomore forward from Columbia, Missouri, tallied a trio of goals over the weekend to drive home wins for the Bearcats, including one game-winner and two insurance scores. In the Friday bout against Missouri S&T, Mauch found the lone goal of the game in the first half, firing the score and eventual game-winner in the 15th minute off a dish-out by sophomore forward Ella Rogan. In Sunday’s battle, Mauch racked up two goals in the 9-0 drubbing with the scores coming approximately one minute apart. The first goal from the sophomore forward was fired in the 52nd minute at the 51:04 mark as junior midfielder Maggie Gleckler served up a ball to Mauch, which made it a 3-0 game. Mauch’s second goal, the sixth Bearcat goal on Sunday, came at the 52:06 mark with the Mauch-Gleckler connection hitting once again. Mauch sent five shots over the weekend with four going on-frame and three finding the back of the net to lead her team offensively. Overall on the year, she owns five goals and one assist for 11 points, which puts her third in the league in goals and fifth in points.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Peyton Baker | Junior | Goalkeeper
Peyton Baker, the now back-to-back Defensive Player of the Week for the GLVC, tallied two more clean sheet victories for her fourth and fifth-straight shutout performances. Baker, an Alton, Illinois-native, captured the weekly honors on September 29 before putting up another strong weekend with a 1-0 win and a 9-0 clean outing on October 3 and 5. In the shutout over Missouri S&T, Baker collected five saves, including decisive penalty kick stops over the Miners, to lock up the win for the Bearcats. On Sunday, Baker controlled the pace of the game and added another save while facing three shots. The weekend had Baker facing 15 total shots with six saves while dropping her goals allowed average to 0.60 on the campaign with a fourth and fifth-straight shutout. In league play, the junior keeper holds a 0.286 GAA, which is tied for second in the GLVC, while sitting tied for the lead in shutouts per game at 0.714.