DENVER - Utah State's Shantel Flanary and New Mexico State's Megan Hendler have been named Verizon Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of September 5-11.
Flanary, a senior forward from Highland, Utah (Lone Peak HS), scored a hat trick in only 38 minutes of action against Idaho State. The hat trick was the first of her career. She scored two goals in the first half and added a penalty kick in the second half. Flanary helped the Utah State soccer team improve to 8-0-0 with a pair of home wins last week. She had one shot in the Aggies' 1-0 win against regionally-ranked Rice. This is the third time this season that Flanary has been named Offensive Player of the Week.
Hendler, a junior defender from Scottsdale, Ariz. (Dubuque), guided the Aggies to a pair of shutouts over the weekend. The Aggies defeated Northern Colorado (1-0) and Arkansas-Little Rock (3-0). Hendler was responsible for defending the opposition's best players in each match, anchoring a defense that allowed just six shots on goal in two games. The Aggies have won a school-record six consecutive games and have shutout three straight opponents.
Other offensive nominees included: Fresno State defender Kayla Kret ... Idaho forward Chelsea Small ... Hawai'i forward Tiana Fujimoto ... New Mexico State forward Jennae Cambra ... Nevada forward Kori Disarufino.
Other defensive nominees included: Louisiana Tech goalkeeper Caitlin Updyke ... Utah State defender Natalie Norris ... Idaho goalkeeper Marissa Fehrman ... Hawai'I defender Britanni Lum ... Nevada goalkeeper Jenna Riddle.