DENVER- Utah Valley's Tori Smith and Hannah Bruce have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 25- Oct. 1.
Smith, senior forward from Sandy, Utah (Jordan High School) played a major role in the non-conference match up to take down WAC preseason favorite Seattle U 3-0. Smith scored the game-winner in just the second minute of play as she received a pass into the box and hit the left upper 90. To add to her first goal of the season, she later assisted the other two goals of the match. Smith recorded four points on the match while she played 79 minutes and recorded three shots.
Bruce, sophomore defender from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (Auburn Drive High School) helped anchor the defense to its first shutout win of the season. Bruce made numerous key defensive stops and organized the defense to allow two shots in the match with only one on frame. She also earned an assist on the second goal of the match.
Other offensive nominees: NM State's Audriana Chavez scored her sixth goal on the season in the 2-1 loss to SMU… UT Rio Grande Valley's Sarah Bonney scored the fastest goal in program history for the game-winner and tallied on an assist in the 6-0 victory over Texas Lutheran.
Other defensive nominees: Kansas City's Liz Mann was a strong defensive force for a team who only allowed one goal and helped her team produce a shutout while playing all 180 minutes at the defensive midfield position… NM State's Dmitri Fong faced 43 shots and recorded a season-high 13 saves in the 2-1 loss to SMU… UT Rio Grande Valley's Katherine Stokely was strong on defense and helped her team produce a shutout over Texas Lutheran and only allowed two shots on goal.