Penn sports awards roundup: defenders dominate

They say in sports, defense wins championships. For a trio of Penn athletes, it also wins awards.

Five Penn athletes recently earned conference and national awards for their play, including a group of defenders. Let’s break down each honoree.

Lista Accomplishments

In football, great defensive players are often described as “game wreckers” for their ability to alter the course of a contest with a few big plays. Junior linebacker John Lista certainly fit that description in the Quakers’ weekend win over Bucknell, racking up 11 total tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss. The latter figure matched his season total from 2023.

Lista earned the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week award for his effort, the first Quaker to win the award since 2022, while also being named an honorable mention for FCS National Defensive Player of the Week. Penn football next faces off with Columbia at home this Saturday at 1 p.m.

Blank Space

Lista has company, as Penn women’s soccer junior goalkeeper Annabel Austen also takes home an Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week title. The award marks the first time this season that anyone from Penn women’s soccer has been recognized by the conference. The honor is also the first that Austen has collected in her time with the Red and Blue, and is well deserved after Austen posted a career-high 10 saves in a narrow 1-0 loss against Princeton, who currently sits at second in the Ancient Eight standings.

Austen then followed the performance up with three saves against Brown — two of which came late in the game —  to preserve a clean sheet in the draw. The award comes after a season in which Austen has stepped up time and time again for the Red and Blue.

After serving as the backup to 2024 graduate honorable mention All-Ivy goalkeeper Laurence Gladu in her first two seasons on the team, Austen has picked up right where Gladu left off in commanding a defense-first Penn team.

“I just really like that pressure and that responsibility, and having the ability to help my team and lead my team in that way,” Austen said.

Brace Yourself

On the men’s side of the sport, an all too familiar name once returns to the weekly awards lineup.

Senior forward Stas Korzeniowski earned his first Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week nod of the season following a goal and an assist to lead No. 12 Penn men’s soccer to a win over No. 21 Hofstra alongside a brace in the team’s win against Brown.

Despite this being his first award earned this year, Korzeniowski is no stranger to the weekly Ivy League awards, having earned the title twice in his junior season and once in his sophomore campaign. Korzeniowski currently paces the Quakers with nine goals.

Effective in Ithaca

Nearly every member of Penn sprint football executed their role perfectly against Cornell, resulting in a dominant 41-0 victory for the Quakers. But two were specifically singled out for their contributions to the cause: senior linebacker Cam Janock and senior kicker/defensive back Adrian Montemayor.

Janock was all over the field in the Red and Blue’s suffocating defensive display, recording nine tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble and earning the CFSL defensive player of the week award.  For Montemayor’s part, a stellar showing from Penn’s offense gave way to five made extra points, as well as a strong average of 54 yards per kickoff.