DENVER - Seattle U forward Hamza Haddadi and Utah Valley defender Alex Neff have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 24-30.
Haddadi, a senior from Shoreline, Wash. (Shorewood HS), tied the WAC single game record for goals in a match with four against UC Davis on Friday night. He recorded a hat trick on penalty kicks alone, all coming in the first half. His four goals is over half of his team-leading total of seven from last season and his eight points are exactly half of his 16 points from 2014.
Neff, a junior from South Weber, Utah (Northridge HS), led the Wolverines to a pair of shutouts on the road. He helped limit opponents to just four shots on goal during the two wins and was responsible for the team save on Sunday, redirecting a would-be goal against UMass Lowell.
Other offensive nominees: Utah Valley's Karson Payton scored the game-winning goal against UMass Lowell to secure the weekend road sweep … Incarnate Word's Noah Keats scored a goal and assisted on another as the Cardinals earned a 3-0 win over Oral Roberts … UT Rio Grande Valley's Olli Tynkkynen scored the program's first goal in 18 years and the first as UTRGV in a one-on-one with the keeper …Houston Baptist's George Kelley scored twice in Friday's win over Lubbock Christian.
Other defensive nominees: Seattle U's Shane Haworth recorded a shutout in the season opener against UC Davis, punching out a PK to preserve the clean sheet … Air Force's John Wendt notched his first career win and earned the shutout over nearly 105 minutes in the Falcons' win over Army West Point … UT Rio Grande Valley's Jorge Medina earned the shutout, making four saves to preserve the clean sheet … Houston Baptist's Philip Poser made three saves to earn the shutout against Lubbock Christian, making another three saves in a 1-0 loss at Bradley on Sunday … Incarnate Word's Alfredo Zendejas saved a ball off the goal line to help preserve the shutout in a 3-0 win over Oral Roberts.