Western Kentucky defensive midfielder Christina Bragado (17) August 22, 2019: Belmont Lady Bruins vs WKU Hilltoppers at WKU Soccer Complex.

Western Kentucky senior defender Christina Bragado has been named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the league office Monday after leading the Lady Toppers to a shutout victory over Middle Tennessee on Sunday.

Bragado’s weekly honor is the third of her career after previously being named Defensive Player of the Week twice during her 2017 sophomore campaign. Her three career weekly awards are tied for the second-most in program history alongside Amanda Buechel, trailing only the four won by former goalkeeper Allison Leone. WKU has also earned Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks, with Avery Jacobsen capturing the accolades last week.

WKU (2-1-1) bounced back from a double-overtime defeat at Samford on Friday to earn its first win in Murfreesboro since the 2011 season. Although Samford scored three goals, only one was scored during the run of play; through its first four matches, Bragado has helped to lead WKU to three shutouts and only a single goal not created from a set piece.

In the Lady Toppers’ two matches this weekend, the San Diego native played every minute while anchoring the formidable back line. On Sunday, tasked with going up against one of the top offenses in C-USA, Bragado helped the WKU defense shut down the Blue Raiders; despite 19 shots, only four were put on goal, and Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Peyton DePriest was held to a single shot that was off target. Middle Tennessee entered the match having scored at least four goals in each of its first three matches prior to the shutout.

WKU’s three goals allowed through its first four matches are its fewest allowed at this point in a season since 2014, when the Lady Toppers gave up just two goals over the same time frame.

WKU will be back in action at the Soccer Complex on Thursday at 7 p.m. to host Ole Miss in the first match of a program-record seven-match homestand.