MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Sam De Gier of UT Southern has been named the Southern States Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.
The honor is the third weekly award of De Gier's career and her third SSAC Defensive Player of the Week selection during an outstanding freshman campaign.
The goalkeeper from Breukelen, The Netherlands, was instrumental in a pair of crucial victories that helped the Firehawks strengthen their grip on first place in the SSAC standings. De Gier totaled 10 saves while allowing just one goal in wins over No. 10 William Carey and Xavier.
Her week was highlighted by a tremendous performance against William Carey, where she recorded nine saves against the conference's highest-scoring offense. De Gier repeatedly denied quality scoring opportunities while helping UT Southern secure a 3-1 victory that handed the Crusaders their first regular-season SSAC loss since 2017.
In addition to her work in goal, De Gier made an impact offensively by assisting Luella Cramer's second goal of the match with a perfectly placed long ball following a save. The assist helped the Firehawks secure sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
She followed that effort with another strong performance in a 1-0 victory over Xavier. De Gier and the Firehawk back line limited the Gold Nuggets to just one shot on goal, recording the team's third consecutive shutout while helping UT Southern improve to 11-0 in conference play.
Across the two victories, De Gier helped the Firehawks defeat two of the top teams in the conference standings while extending the program's unbeaten streak to 13 matches.
De Gier joins Millie Rayner, Courtney Hicks, and Kamilia Tayebi among Firehawks who have earned conference weekly honors this season and becomes the first UT Southern player to earn three SSAC Player of the Week awards during the 2026 campaign.
Up Next
The Firehawks close the regular season this week with road trips to Dalton State on Thursday and No. 23 Life University on Saturday as they continue their pursuit of the SSAC regular-season championship.
FOLLOW THE FIREHAWKS
Tap in with everything happening around UT Southern Athletics and keep up with the Firehawks all season long.
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/utsathletics
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utsouthernathletics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UTSouthernFirehawks
Scores, highlights, announcements, behind-the-scenes content, and more — stay connected and rep the Firehawks everywhere you go. Go Firehawks!
