PULLMAN, Wash. - For the second time in her career, senior Maddy Haro captured Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week recognition as announced by the conference office Tuesday afternoon. Haro also was named the conference's top defender on Sept. 5, 2017, the last weekly award for the Cougars. The award was the first of the season given out by the conference. 

Haro led the Cougs to a pair of wins on opening weekend that included a 3-1 victory over Seattle University Friday night to open the season and a 1-0 shutout of Grand Canyon University (GCU) Sunday to cap the weekend. Defensively, the Cougars were stellar throughout the weekend but took it to another level Sunday afternoon when they held GCU to just two shots in 92 minutes of action, the first of which did not come until the 84' of play.  In addition to her defensive efforts, Haro was the catalyst to the Cougars' offense, assisting on three of the four goals scored over the weekend.

Friday against Seattle, Haro assisted on a pair of goals scored by junior Morgan Weaver, setting up the first goal of the year with a perfectly placed cross into the center of the box and again later in the game on Weaver's second goal of the match and the third of the night for WSU. Sunday, Haro was at it again, this time beating her defender to the baseline where she was able to again slot a ball into the center of the six, finding the feet of her freshman forward Molly Myers to end the game.

Last season, Haro led the Cougars in assists with a career-best seven. She has now totaled 10 for her career, just shy of the Cougars' career top-10 list.

The Cougs and Haro will hit the pitch again Friday, August 24 in Minneapolis when they take on Iowa in a neutral site game at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on the campus of Minnesota.