DENVER ? Boise State forward Shannon Saxton and Fresno State defender Andrea Alires have been named the Western Athletic Conference Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 15-21. This is the third career WAC Player of the Week honor for Saxton and the first honor for Alires.
Saxton, a freshman forward from Beaverton, Ore. (Beaverton), led Boise State to a 5-1 victory over Idaho in the Broncos’ lone match of the week, extending Boise State’s winning streak to three games as they remain undefeated in league action at 3-0. She scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 29th minute, and then netted an insurance goal seven minutes later to put the match out of reach. With the goals, Saxton extended her school records for both goals and points in a season to 14 and 32, respectively. She also continues to lead the WAC in both goals and points this season.
Alires, a native of Albuquerque, N.M. (Cibola), anchored the Bulldog defense that helped goalkeeper Kaity Revel record two shutouts last weekend. She led the defensive charge in the 4-0 route over Louisiana Tech on Friday and the 1-0 victory over Utah State on Sunday, improving Fresno State’s league record to 3-1. Alires also registered two assists in the win over the Lady Techsters and also helped hold Louisiana Tech to just seven shot attempts. Alires has powered the Bulldog defense all season, helping lead Fresno State to seven shutouts on the season.
Other offensive nominees included: Stephanie Yoro of Fresno State came off the bench and posted the game-winning goal in the final 28 minutes of the second-half to defeat Utah State in a narrow 1-0 victory ... Taryn Fukuroku of Hawai’i scored the game-winning goal with less than five minutes left in regulation to lift the Rainbow Wahine to a 1-0 win at San Jose State, leading Hawai’i to its first road match win of the season ... Jessica Thompson of Nevada recorded her first goal of the season in the Wolf Pack’s 4-1 victory over Louisiana Tech, helping Nevada win its first WAC match of the season ... Candice Clark of Utah State tallied three points on one goal and one assist in the 2-0 defeat of Nevada on Friday.
Other defensive nominees included: Jen Burns of Boise State recorded five saves and made two stops on one-on-one opportunities by Idaho as she held the Vandals to just one goal in the 5-1 victory ... Vanessa Mann of Nevada anchored a Wolf Pack defense that held the Lady Techsters to just one shot in Nevada’s 4-1 win over Louisiana Tech ... Ali Griffin of Utah State recorded her fifth shutout of the season in the Aggies 2-0 win at Nevada and tallied five saves in the narrow 1-0 loss at Fresno State.
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