DENVER – Denver’s Kristen Hamilton and Louisiana Tech’s Brittany Beddow have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, while Idaho’s Liz Boyden has been named the WAC’s Goalkeeper of the Week for Sept. 17-23.
Hamilton, a junior forward from Littleton, Colo. (Columbine HS), netted her first career hat trick to lead the Pioneers to a 3-1 win at No. 13/15 Portland on Sunday afternoon. Hamilton played 188 minutes at forward for Denver in the two-game stretch. With her three goals, Hamilton now has 30 in her career and is two behind a pair of Pioneer alumna for eighth on DU’s all-time scoring list. Hamilton also moved into a tie for eighth on DU’s career points list with 79. She also tallied four shots with three on goal in the 2-1 overtime win over TCU. Hamilton leads the WAC in points and goals with 16 and 7, respectively.
Beddow, a freshman defender/midfielder from Keller, Texas (Carrollton Creekview HS), moved to the defender position this week due to an injury on the LA Tech squad. Beddow helped anchor the Bulldog defense to a pair of shutout victories over McNeese State (1-0) and UT Tyler (1-0, OT). Beddow helped the LA Tech defense allow only six shots, only one of which was a shot on goal in the win over McNeese State. Beddow also helped on the offensive side with an assist on the game-winning goal against McNeese State and a scored the game-winning goal at UT Tyler in overtime.
Boyden, a senior goalkeeper from Spokane, Wash. (Ferris HS), played all 180 minutes over the weekend, earned her 14th career shutout and made 11 combined saves as the Vandals posted a split against Utah Valley and UNLV. She made five saves in Friday’s 1-0 shutout win over Utah Valley, then made six more against UNLV, including two stops on two one-on-one breaks in the second half. Boyden’s only goal surrendered was an own goal. She shut down a regionally-ranked UNLV team that was on a six-game winning streak and that was averaging 2.5 goals per home game this season.
Other offensive nominees included: Texas State sophomore midfielder Tori Hale.
Other defensive nominees included: Idaho sophomore defender Emily Ngan ... Texas State sophomore defend er Michelle Bucy ... Utah State senior defender Natalie Norris.
Other goalkeeper nominees included: Texas State junior Natalie Gardini ... Utah State senior Ashlyn Mulford.