Gaynor, Najera Collect Women’s Soccer Weekly Honors
10/24/2023 3:01:00 PM | Women's Soccer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's soccer's Justina Gaynor earned a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week, while Bella Najera was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season, both organizations announced Tuesday.
Gaynor and Najera played a key role in MSU's wins over Illinois and Iowa last week as the Spartans clinched their second-straight Big Ten title and earned the No. 1 seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament.
Gaynor, a native of Shelby Township, Michigan, earns her first weekly award of 2023 with the national honor and picks up her second-career award from the organization after being named to the Team of the Week on Nov. 11 last season. She contributed to four of MSU's five goals last week, scoring a goal and adding an assist on Gabby Mueller's game-winner in the Spartans' 2-1 win over Illinois on Oct. 19 before adding assists on MSU's first two goals in a 3-0 win over Iowa on Oct. 22.
The midfielder leads the Spartans in total points (19) and assists (11) this season, while her 11 assists rank third in the league and sit in a tie for sixth in the NCAA.
After becoming the first Spartan in program history to earn three Freshman of the Week honors from the conference on Oct. 17, Najera adds to her record-breaking total with a fourth honor Tuesday, tying Penn State's Mallory Weber's single-season Big Ten record set in 2012. The St. Charles, Illinois native tallied an assist on Mueller's game-winner in MSU's win over Illinois before scoring her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the Spartans' win against Iowa.
Najera has scored at least one point in MSU's last five games and leads all freshmen in the league in total points (18) and goals (7).
The Spartans host eighth-seeded Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 29 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Kickoff at DeMartin Stadium is set for 1 p.m. with streaming on B1G+.
