DENVER – Idaho’s Chelsea Small and Utah State’s Chandra Salmon have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 12-18.
Small, a freshman forward from Solana Beach, Calif. (Torrey Pines HS), helped the Vandals to a 1-0-0 record last week. Small scored the game-winning goal in Idaho’s 3-1 victory over Boise State. She then connected on an insurance goal to help secure the win for the Vandals. The two-goal performance marks her second multi-goal match of the year and gives her seven goals on the season. She is now just three points away from breaking the Idaho freshman record for single-season points. The win over Boise State also secured Idaho’s first Governor’s Cup title since 1999.
Salmon, a sophomore defender from Provo, Utah (Provo HS), anchored Utah State’s defense to a win over Fresno State and a tie against second place San Jose State. Salmon was part of the defensive core that kept Fresno State off the scoreboard, making several key tackles for Utah State’s third shutout of the season. The sophomore helped the USU defense give up just one goal in two matches.
Other offensive nominees included: Boise State junior forward Shannon Saxton; Fresno State sophomore midfielder/forward Laura Dodd; Hawai‘i senior forward Ambree Ako; Nevada sophomore midfielder Natalie Ratnavira; New Mexico State freshman midfielder Jazmin Cardoso; San Jose State senior midfielder Hallsie Pacheco; and Utah State sophomore forward Shantel Flanary.
Other defensive nominees included: Fresno State sophomore defender Kendall VanDine; Hawai‘i senior midfielder Kristyn Shapka; Idaho sophomore midfielder Desirae Hull; New Mexico State freshman defender Elise Nordin; and San Jose State junior goalkeeper Nina Butera.