“It’s ’cause people mispronounce my name, it’s Bissen (pronounced like bison) and it turned into an issue of ‘Buffalo,’ then it turned to ‘Buffy’ then it was just ‘Buff,'” Bissen said. “Someone said ‘like a buffalo,’ and I got that freshman year. We all give each other nicknames and some of ’em stick.”

Previously tied for first place in shutouts C-USA, Bissen recorded her sixth of the season with Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Pirates in which she had two saves to keep the Golden Eagles from losing the lead.

The Minnesota native was dubbed C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season two weeks ago with two shutout wins over conference rivals Louisville and Cincinnati.

“It’s nice to get awards and stuff but all the credit goes to my teammates ’cause they’re the ones who are playing in front of me and helping me out,” Bissen said. “We all work hard for every win that we get.”

Last season, Bissen only played in four games, acting as the second-string goalie under then senior Ashley Koenig.

She played in Marquette’s 2-0 loss to Oakland in which she surrendered two goals and made three of her six saves on the year against Charlotte, played 30 minutes and made two saves in a 1-1 tie to Wisconsin-Milwaukee and saw 20 minutes of action against DePaul.

This season, in her first year starting as a goalkeeper, Bissen, along with center defender Lindsay Smale, has helped surge the comeback of a losing Marquette season with the support of a strong defense that has been a foundation for Marquette. Bissen said watching Koenig, who had eight shutouts last season, gave her more insight on what to do in game situations.

“I learned a lot my first two years just watching from the bench,” Bissen said. “Just reading the game. I didn’t have any huge expectations coming in; I knew there was a good goalkeeper in front of me. I learned a lot from Koenig. I felt confident that my time would come.”

With three more games left in the regular season and the conference tournament beginning in two weeks in Charlotte, Bissen can surpass Koenig’s eight-shutout season.

Bissen has a chance to get her seventh shutout when the Golden Eagles face DePaul Friday at Chicago at 2 p.m.