DENVER- NM State's Devin Hart and Kansas City's Abby Small have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 2-8.
Hart, redshirt senior forward from Albuquerque, N.M. (Hope Christian High School) recorded two goals and an assist on the weekend for five points. She assisted the equalizer in the 88th minute to send the 2-2 game into overtime against CSU Bakersfield. After two overtime periods, there was nothing that got past either goalkeeper so the game resulted in a tie. Hart scored the first goal against Grand Canyon in the 13th minute of the match but ten minutes later they responded with a goal of their own. In a match that saw two overtime periods, it was Hart again that found the back of the net as she slipped it past the goalkeeper in the 102nd minute for the “Golden Goal.â€
Small, sophomore defender from Kansas City, Mo., (St. Teresa's Academy) was the leader of the defensive unit that shutout both Utah Valley (3-0) and Seattle U (3-0). She saw the pitch all 180 minutes over the weekend and helped her team allow 15 shots with only four of those on frame. Small was a big part in handing Seattle U their first conference loss since 2014 and broke their 15 game regular season conference winning streak.
Other offensive nominees: Kansas City's Kelsey Mothershead scored a goal in both the 3-0 win over Utah Valley and the 3-0 Seattle U defeat this past weekend… Seattle U's Madeline Racine recorded a goal and three assists in the 6-1 victory over Chicago State for a career-high of five points… UT Rio Grande Valley's Andreya Barrera scored both game-winners in the 1-0 victory over Grand Canyon and when they defeated CSU Bakersfield 2-0… Utah Valley's Breanna McCarter was the second WAC player this season and just the fifth player in program history to record a hat trick in the 9-0 victory over Chicago State as well as recorded an assist.
Other defensive nominees: NM State's Dmitri Fong faced 40 shots and recorded 13 saves for the weekend in both double overtime matches this past weekend… UT Rio Grande Valley's Tuva Rolstad Nilsen anchored the defense to two shutout victories and has helped extend UTRGV's shutout streak to 315:29, which is the third-longest streak in the history of the program… Utah Valley's Libby Weber made key defensive stops as a defensive midfielder to only allow 15 shots with eight of those on frame for the weekend.