DENVER - UT Rio Grande Valley's Frederik Frankman and San José State's Jonathan Partida have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 24 - 30.
Frankman, a junior midfielder from Copenhagen, Denmark (Falkonergaardens Gymnasium), scored the insurance goal on a free kick in a 2-0 win over Incarnate Word on Thursday night. He followed that up with a bicycle kick off a corner kick for the game-tying goal against Air Force on Saturday. His three goals and seven points lead UTRGV this season as the Vaqueros remain in the running for a spot at the upcoming WAC Tournament in Orem, Utah.
Partida, a sophomore midfielder from Newark, Calif. (Newark Memorial HS), played the defensive center midfield position in a pair of road wins at Air Force and UMKC. Against Air Force, he helped to lead the defense in shutting down a talented Falcon offense, holding Air Force without a shot on goal. At UMKC, Partida and the Spartans limited the Roos to just six shots on the night, including just three on goal. With the two wins, SJSU still has a chance at qualifying for the upcoming WAC Tournament.
Other offensive nominees: Grand Canyon's Niki Jackson scored a goal and assisted on another in Sunday's 2-1 win over CSU Bakersfield ... San José State's Suliman Khorami had a pair of assists as the Spartans earned a pair of road wins to keep their tournament hopes alive ... Seattle U's Alex Roldan scored the game-winning goal in Thursday's win over UNLV … Utah Valley's Paul Hoffmeister assisted on the game-winner against Grand Canyon and scored the game-winner against UNLV to keep the Wolverines perfect at home.
Other defensive nominees: Grand Canyon's Kendyl Day made five saves in each of the Lopes' matches on the week as GCU went 1-1 … Seattle U's Nathan Aune contributed to a strong defensive effort in SU's 4-1 win over UNLV … UT Rio Grande Valley's Esa Aalto recorded a shutout against UIW and made a career-high seven saves in a tie against Air Force … Utah Valley's Alex Neff led UVU to a pair of home wins to move the Wolverines into first place in the conference standings.