Freshman goalkeeper Amanda Dennis picked up the first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors of her career Thursday. Thanks to her clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Ohio State, Erica Dambach’s Nittany Lions clinched a share of their 18th regular-season conference crown in 19 years.

Dennis Garners Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Honors https://t.co/8rUSv9H0al #TTRN16 #WeAre #PSWS ? pic.twitter.com/O3DstTf9Gg

— Penn State WSOC (@PennStateWSOC) October 27, 2016

The San Diego native earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week earlier this season following a 2-0 home stand against Iowa and Nebraska. She made a huge penalty-kick save in an eventual 2-1 victory over the Cornhuskers. Dennis took the starting job from day one and didn’t look back. She’s turned in an impressive debut campaign, allowing only 15 goals in 18 starts for Penn State (11-3-4, 7-1-3 Big Ten), with 48 saves and seven solo shutouts.

Minnesota’s Nikki Albrecht and Wisconsin’s Rose Lavelle were named Big Ten Freshman and Offensive Player of the Week, respectively. Dennis and the No. 2 seed Nittany Lions will take on No. 7 seed Rutgers (9-3-6, 4-2-5 Big Ten) this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Jeffrey Field in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals.