DENVER – Utah State’s Shantel Flanary and New Mexico State’s Mikaela Bitner have been named Verizon Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 6-12.
Flanary, a junior forward from Highland, Utah (Lone Peak HS), scored two goals and added an assist as Utah State went 1-0-1 in two home matches last week. In Utah State’s tie against Colorado College, Flanary connected on a penalty kick to tie the score with less than a minute remaining in regulation. In the Aggies’ 3-2 overtime victory over regionally-ranked Cal Poly, Flanary scored USU’s second goal and had an assist on the game-winning goal. This season, Flanary leads the team in points scored with nine with four goals and one assist.
Bitner, a freshman goalkeeper from Albuquerque, N.M. (Sandia HS), anchored the NM State defense to a 1-0 shutout victory over North Dakota. Bitner collected her first career shutout in goal behind a season-high nine saves. She also posted a 1.000 save percentage in 90 minutes of play.
Other offensive nominees included: Boise State freshman forward Katy Oehring … Fresno State junior midfielder Laura Dodd … Idaho sophomore forward Chelsea Small … Nevada senior forward Cristen Drummond … New Mexico State sophomore forward/midfielder Crystal Burns.
Other defensive nominees included: Boise State junior goalkeeper Liz Ruiz … Fresno State junior midfielder Molly Nizzoli … Louisiana Tech freshman goalkeeper Caitlyn Updyke … Nevada senior goalkeeper Marie Cove … Utah State junior midfielder Chandra Salmon.