SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word women's soccer team's recent hot streak has resulted in another Southland Conference Player of the Week award.

This time, junior Montanna Mathews earned the SLC's Defensive Player of the Week honor, the conference announced Tuesday morning.

Mathews played a key role on both ends of the field in a 3-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Thursday. Not only did she aid in the shutout defensively, she also contributed to the scoring, sending home her second goal of the season off a corner kick in the 24th minute, putting UIW ahead 2-0.

The Albury, Australia native has helped the Cardinals pitch six shutouts this season, including each of the last two games. Thanks in part to that defensive effort, Incarnate Word, which is 7-5-2 overall, enters the week sitting atop the Southland Conference standings with a 4-1 record in league games.

This is the first SLC Player of the Week award for Mathews. It's the fourth time UIW has captured one this season, with three players being honored in the last two weeks.

Hannah Alexander has twice been named Southland Goalkeeper of the Week, first on Sept. 15 and again last week, when teammate Tyler Coker was also named Offensive Player of the Week.

Mathews is the first UIW player to win SLC Defensive Player of the Week since Aug. 29, 2023, when the award went to Ellie Mai Sanford.

The Cardinals will look to keep their win streak going on the road against a very good Lamar team at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Lamar, which is 6-2-4 overall and 3-1-1 in conference play, is one of five teams within three points of UIW for the top spot in a very tight SLC race.