DENVER - Utah Valley's Gui Leme and UT Rio Grande Valley's Andy Rios have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 4 - 10.
Leme, a sophomore forward from Sao Paulo, Brazil (Lehi HS), was named Offensive MVP of the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament after contributing to each Wolverine goal on the weekend. On Friday at Cal State Fullerton, he scored the first goal in the 23rd minute to give UVU the early lead and then assisted on an insurance goal in the 71st minute of the 2-0 win over the Titans. He continued his strong play on Sunday against San Diego State, scoring his second goal of the season in the 11th minute to give the Wolverines the 1-0 win over the Aztecs.
Rios, a sophomore goalkeeper from Highlands, Texas (Goose Creek Memorial HS), had a pair of shutouts as the Vaqueros used wins over Loyola Chicago and Northern Illinois to win the NIU Adidas Invitational. Against Loyola Chicago, he made three saves on eight shots as UTRGV earned a hard-fought 1-0 win. He followed that up with four saves on 12 total shots in a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois to earn all-tournament honors while leading UTRGV to the pair of victories.
Other offensive nominees: Air Force's Tucker Bone scored on a header in the 35th minute to lift the Falcons to a 1-0 win over service academy rival Army West Point … Grand Canyon's Niki Jackson scored the game-winner in a 1-0 win over Evansville and assisted on the Lopes' lone goal in a 2-1 loss at 23rd-ranked Pacific … Houston Baptist's Malik Key scored his first goal of the season in a 3-0 win at Gardner-Webb on Sunday … Kansas City's Henry Ramirez helped support the Roos offense in a 1-1 tie with Memphis … San José State's Jeremy Romero collected the brace with a pair of goal in the Spartans' 2-0 win over Saint Mary's … Seattle U's Cody Gibson scored both goals in the Redhawks' 2-0 win at 22nd-ranked Gonzaga on Sunday … UT Rio Grande Valley's Ilias Kosmidis scored a pair of goals as the Vaqueros won the NIU Adidas Invitational with wins over Loyola Chicago and Northern Illinois,
Other defensive nominees: Air Force's Trey Pujats was instrumental in leading the Falcons to a shutout win over service academy rival Army West Point … Grand Canyon's Jeremy Pollard made nine saves in the Lopes' 1-0 win over Evansville on Thursday … Houston Baptist's Bryan Brody anchored the Husky defense to a spit, falling 1-0 at Georgia Southern before earning 3-0 win at Gardner-Webb … Kansas City's Antoine Precheur played all 120 minutes of a 1-1 tie with Memphis and helped hold the Tigers to just six shots on goal … San José State's Alex Clewis made a pair of saves to lead the Spartans to a 2-0 win over Saint Mary's … Seattle U's Josh Adachi made a pair of saves to help the Redhawks earn a 2-0 win at 22nd-ranked Gonzaga … Utah Valley's Elliott Rubio was named Defensive MVP of the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament with shutout wins over Cal State Fullerton and San Diego State.