After aiding her team to a pair of critical conference results with 21 saves in two matches, junior Samantha Merklin is again Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.

The Pleasant Valley graduate’s shot-stopping displays have been vital for Bloomsburg women’s soccer’s cause all season, but maybe none more than her two performances last week. The junior began on Wednesday with nine stops against a Kutztown squad receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national poll. After giving up an early goal, Merklin kept her wits about her and made several stops to help her team to a 1-1 draw on the road against the Golden Bears.

After a 3-0 defeat earlier in the season to West Chester, Merklin and the Huskies avenged the defeat with a 1-0 victory over the Golden Rams. The win was the first for the program over West Chester since 2021. Merklin again heavily factored into the result, recording a season-high 12 saves against the Golden Rams, including eight stops in the first half. Merklin and the Huskies additionally kept PSAC-leading goalscorer Allyson Cutter out of the back of the net.

With four critical points secured from the two games, Bloomsburg enters the final week of the regular season in contention for a PSAC Tournament place. With nine and 12 saves, respectively, Merklin has four games this season with at least nine saves and notched eight shutouts.