DENVER ? Louisiana Tech’s Hikari Kurokawa and Fresno State’s Kaitlyn Revel have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 29-Oct. 5.
Kurokawa, a junior forward from Okayama, Japan (Waseda University), helped the Lady Techsters to a perfect 2-0 mark on the week as she totaled five points in Tech’s two victories. She scored her first career goal in an 8-0 win over Prairie View A&M in the sixth minute of the contest to give Tech a 2-0 advantage and then added her second goal in the 68th minute upping the lead to 7-0. She also registered an assist in the game. The five points were a career high for the junior as she came into the game with one point on the season. The two wins on the weekend secured a winning record for the Lady Techsters for the first time in program history. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Kurokawa and the third consecutive honor for a Louisiana Tech player.
Revel, a sophomore goalkeeper from San Mateo, Calif. (Aragon HS), recorded her fourth shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over Portland State to help the Bulldogs move to 4-7-1 on the season. She allowed just one goal while making an impressive 12 saves. The sophomore was not shaken as she saved seven shots to secure at 1-1 tie at Oregon State. This marks the third time in her career that Revel has garnered Player of the Week honor and the second time in as many weeks that a Fresno State player has won the award.
Other offensive nominees included: Fresno State’s Nicole Gutierrez recorded the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Portland State. Randy Hickcox of Boise State notched a game-winning goal in the 86th minute to lead the Broncos over Northern Colorado, 2-1.
Other defensive nominees included: Brooke Lanie of Louisiana Tech help Tech hold two weekend opponents to just two shots on goal as well as notching five points of her own. Utah State goalkeeper Ali Griffin made a season-high seven saves and allowed just two goals against a tough BYU squad. Boise State’s Jennifer Burns made seven saves including five in the second half to keep the Broncos alive against Northern Colorado. San Jose State goalkeeper Nina Butera made 11 saves in a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to Saint Mary’s (CA).