SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 14, 2026) – Two members of the Western New England field hockey team have been honored by the Conference of New England (CNE) this week as Athletes of the Week, including the Offensive Player of the Week, Mikayla Mrzywka, and the Defensive Player of the Week, Alex
Tardugno. 

Mrzywka opened last week with three goals in a 5-0 win over Vermont State University Castleton, coming away with six points in the game. Mrzywka took four shots on goal for the Golden Bears, while leading the Blue and Gold in scoring. In the CNE opener against Gordon College this past weekend, Mrzywka picked up a
goal and an assist for Western New England to lead the charge in a 2-0 win. The WNE sophomore took eight shots, putting up five on goal, securing three points for the game. For the week, Mrzywka tallied four goals and an assist, picking up nine points overall. 

Tardugno was a brick wall between the pipes for Western New England, coming away with a pair of shutouts in 5-0 and 2-0 victories over Castleton and Gordon, respectively. Tardugno opened the week with a ten-save effort in the win over the Spartans, stopping every shot she faced to preserve the win for WNE. In conference action, Tardugno kept the Fighting Scots off the scoreboard by making two saves to keep the clean sheet for the week. Tardugno now has 24 saves this season, allowing just three goals over four games, earning a 0.75 Goals Against Average and an .889 save percentage. 

The Western New England field hockey team ends its three-game road trip this coming Wednesday, September 16, when they travel to Keene State College for a 5:00 PM game.