DENVER — UNLV’s Salvador Bernal and Seattle U’s Shane Haworth have been named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for August 25-31.
Bernal, a senior from Las Vegas, Nev. (Clark HS), posted his first career hat trick and added an assist in UNLV’s 4-3 win at Bradley on Sunday. Coupled with a 2-1 overtime victory against Western Illinois, UNLV earned the Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic title. Bernal had a total of six shots in the Bradley match, five of which were on goal. UNLV fell behind 2-0 in the first half before Bernal scored two goals in six minutes to tie it up before halftime. His assist came in the 79th minute off a corner kick to give the Rebels the final goal of the match. Bernal was named the tournament MVP after becoming the first UNLV player to record a hat trick since 2001.
Haworth, a junior goalkeeper from Puyallup, Wash. (Emerald Ridge) made his first appearance since 2012 picking up two wins over the weekend at the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Soccer Classic in Charleston, S.C. In a 2-1 win over Furman, Haworth made seven saves. He then recorded a shutout and six more saves in a 2-0 win over the host team, College of Charleston. Haworth was named to the all-tournament team following his performances in the two matches.
Other offensive nominees included: freshman defender Jamie Carey-Morrell, Bakersfield; freshman forward Niki Jackson, Grand Canyon; senior forward Patrick Toh, Houston Baptist; sophomore midfielder Jeff Rose, Seattle U; and freshman forward Matt Gay, Utah Valley.
Defensive nominees included: sophomore goalkeeper Nicolas Clever, Bakersfield; freshman goalkeeper Kendyl Day, Grand Canyon; senior goalkeeper Kevin Suarez, Houston Baptist; and freshman goalkeeper Collin Partee, Utah Valley.
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