Oct. 28, 2013
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State senior defender Haley Palmer has been named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. The award is Palmer's first of her career.
A native of Windsor, Calif., Palmer helped the Aztecs post a pair of road shutouts en route to their second straight MW regular-season title. SDSU beat Boise State, 1-0, on Friday before blanking Utah State, 2-0.
In the outing vs. the Broncos, Palmer played the full 90 minutes, anchored a defense that limited BSU to just three shots on goal and handed Boise State its first home shutout loss since Sept. 6. Offensively, Palmer shared game-high honors in shots and shots on goal with two and one, respectively.
Two days later in Logan, Palmer broke a scoreless tie in the 18th minute and added her second long-range goal in the 54th to help San Diego State secure the 2013 Mountain West regular-season crown. In 90 minutes of action, the preseason All-American attempted a game-high four shots, including a game-high three on goal, and guided the Aztecs to their ninth shutout of the year and sixth inside the league.
For the week, Palmer led SDSU with two goals, one game-winner, six shots and four shots on goal. The reigning MW Defensive Player of the Year was also one of three Aztecs to play the entire 180 minutes over the weekend.
This is the second defensive-player-of-the-week award for the Aztecs this season and fifth weekly conference honor overall. Kelsey Booth was the MW Offensive Player of the Week last Monday with Hannah Keane picking up the same award on Sept. 23 and 30. Carli Johnson was the first SDSU player this year to garner defensive accolades back on Sept. 23.
Palmer and the back-to-back Mountain West champs close out the regular season on Friday when they face New Mexico in Albuquerque. First tap is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT on the Mountain West Network.