SOMERSET, N.J. -- Freshman goalkeeper Malene Nielsen earned her fourth NEC Rookie of the Week award as announced by the Northeast Conference office on Tuesday afternoon.  

On Sunday afternoon, Nielsen stood tall in net for the Knights holding St. Francis Brooklyn goalless and earning her eighth shutout of the season, leading the NEC in that metric. Nielsen made six saves, including multiple saves off well-taken free kicks, to keep the match level at 0-0, where the scoreline remained after 110 minutes.  

The Knights have played seven games that have gone into double overtime, and of those seven, Nielsen has impressively held a clean sheet in five of them. Nielsen also leads the NEC in save percentage at 82%, and her goals against average sits at just 1.04, good for second in the conference. She is the lone Knight to have played every minute of every game this campaign.  

Nielsen's standout freshman campaign continues with this fourth Rookie of the Week honor, and seventh total weekly honor from the NEC, and she continues to break new ground in the Northeast Conference. She has become the first women's soccer player in conference history to earn the Rookie of the Week accolade on four separate occasions.  

This is also the sixth total Rookie of the Week honor earned by a member of the Knights, as Aitana Martínez-Montoya earned this accolade the previous two weeks. This is the second time this season that the award has remained in the possession of the Knights for three straight weeks, with Nielsen's three-peat from 8/31-9/14 the earlier time.  

The Knights are back in action at home on Thursday, October 28, at 4 p.m., where they will square off against Mount St. Mary's. The match will also be streamed live on NEC Front Row.