LAGRANGE, Ga. – Freshman defender Raul Rivero (Duluth, Ga.) of the LaGrange College men's soccer team has been named the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending September 28, 2025 in an announcement by the conference on Tuesday.

Rivero anchored LaGrange's back line last week, playing all 180 minutes across the Panthers' two matches as they went 1-0-1. Rivero helped limit opponents to just two goals for the week, holding Belhaven and Millsaps to a combined 1.00 goals against average.

"Raul [Rivero] was an absolute rock for us this weekend." LC coach Ryan Dickson said of his rookie standout. "Going the full 90 minutes on back-to-back days against two opponents is incredibly impressive."

Rivero is the second Panther to earn CCS Defensive Player of the Week honors, joining teammate sophomore goalkeeper Sawyer Williams (Johns Creek, Ga.) who was recognized for week ending August 31^st.

LaGrange is back on the field on Saturday when they travel to Covenant College for a 3:00 p.m. Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) matchup.

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