DENVER - San José State forward Rory Knibbs and Utah Valley defender Alex Neff have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 31 through Sept. 6.
Knibbs, a junior from London, England (Bradfield College), scored the hat trick to lead the Spartans to a 4-2 win over visiting Sacramento State. The trifecta came in a stretch of just seven and a half minutes as he led SJSU from being down 0-2 to up by a goal at 3-2. The offensive output tied his single game career-high, which occurred in last season's 4-1 win over Massachusetts.
Neff, a junior from South Weber, Utah (Northridge HS), once again led the Wolverines to a pair of wins on the road as he earns defensive honors for the second straight week. He helped limit opponents to just four shots on goal, including zero allowed in a 3-0 win over Saint Joseph's. He was named Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the Johann Memorial Classic as UVU improved to 4-0 on the young season.
Other offensive nominees: UNLV's Danny Musovski was named Johann Memorial Classic Most Outstanding Player after scoring twice in a win over Saint Joseph's on Friday … Houston Baptist's Marcelo Acuna scored both goals for the Huskies this weekend as HBU split a pair of games in Edinburg … Air Force's Tucker Axhoj scored a gaol and assisted in the game-winner in Friday's 2-1 win over Evansville and also scored in Sunday's loss to Drake … Incarnate Word's Noah Keats scored the game-winning goal in Sunday's 2-1 win Central Arkansas …Utah Valley's Lucas Cawley scored the game-winning goal on a bicycle kick in the 98th minute of Friday's 2-1 win over Pacific … Missouri-Kansas City's Wes White scored his first goal of the season as the Kangaroos knocked off SIU-Edwardsville for the second straight season …Seattle U's Michael Roberts scored twice in Friday's 3-0 win over Northwestern … CSU Bakersfield's Christian Duarte scored the lone goal in Sunday's 1-1 tie at Sacramento State … UTRGV's Isidro Martinez scored his first career goal in Friday's 1-1 tie with Buffalo.
Other defensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Nicolas Clever made 12 total saves, allowing just two goals, as the Roadrunners went 1-0-1 on the weekend … Incarnate Word's Kieran O'Boyle made 15 saves while allowing two goals over two matches as the Cardinals went 1-1-0 on the week … Missouri-Kansas City's Roberto Albuquerque scored a goal while anchoring the defense that allowed just four shots on goal in the Roos 2-0 win over SIUE … Houston Baptist's Chance Pope saw his first collegiate action, playing the final 50 minutes against Buffalo as HBU won in overtime, 1-0 … Seattle U's Shane Haworth recorded his second shutout of the season over Northwestern and allowed just one goal in the loss to Cal Poly … UTRGV's Archie Massen was named Defensive MVP of the UTRGV Tournament as the Vaqueros went 0-1-1.