Sept. 13, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State senior Britney Bennett has been named Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday afternoon. The weekly award is the San Diego native's first of her career.
A defender out of Otay Ranch High, Bennett helped extend SDSU's home unbeaten streak to 11 matches with her game-winning goal vs. San Jose State. The senior was also a part of a defensive unit that held the Spartans scoreless in the final 52:48, which gave Bennett the opportunity to score the go-ahead goal.
With the score tied at 1-1 midway through the second half, San Diego State earned a corner kick, which senior Michaela DeJesus sent over to the far right post. Finding herself all alone and no one within a couple yards of her, Bennett trapped the ball and calmly tucked her shot into the lower right-hand corner of the net from five yards out. The tally gave the Aztecs the cushion they needed to win the match. The goal was Bennett's first of her career and the two points matches her career high for a season, which was established in 2008.
In the contest vs. defending national champion and top-ranked North Carolina, Bennett helped San Diego State neutralize a potent Tar Heel attack. The 20-time NCAA and 21-time overall national champions entered the weekend averaging 22.8 shots and 4.2 goals per game. But as a result of Bennett and the Aztec defense, they held UNC to just seven shots, including three on net, and only one goal. The one goal, meanwhile, was tied for the fewest goals scored in a single game for the nation's No. 1 team this year and the seven attempts were the Tar Heels' fewest since Oct. 14, 2007, when they had 10 vs. Wake Forest. In the end, SDSU came up just short as it was edged, 1-0, at home.
The Aztecs return to action on Friday when they oppose Oregon at the Oregon State Nike Invitational. First tap is slated for 4:30 p.m. PT in Corvallis, Ore.