Penn State field hockey junior goalkeeper Annie Zinkavich has been named Big Ten Defensive player of the Week for the period ending Sept. 15 Big Ten Conference officials announced today.

Zinkavich earned her second shutout of the season during Penn State's 3-0 win over Temple last Friday. She followed up that performance with a career-high 10 saves in the Nittany Lions' 2-1 upset of No. 6 North Carolina on Sunday.

The junior held the Tar Heels scoreless over the initial 67 minutes of the contest. The loan goal by North Carolina marked the first score allowed by Zinkavich at home this season in three contests.

Zinkavich is the first Penn State field hockey player to be honored by the conference this season and currently ranks second among conference leaders with a 0.64 goals against average.