Oct. 27, 2014
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State freshman Aliyah Utush has been named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday morning. The honor is the forward's second of the season and Utush becomes the just the second SDSU freshman in school history to win the award twice in a campaign (Aubree Southwick - 2007).
A native of Rocklin, California, Utush helped the Aztecs to a perfect 2-0 week and to their third consecutive MW regular-season title following a 5-2 home win over then-co-leader Wyoming and a 1-0 double-overtime victory at Colorado State.
In the three-goal decision over the Cowgirls last Friday night, the Whitney High School product picked up her second assist of the season after finding Hannah Keane, who scored SDSU's first goal of the night in the 21st minute. Utush finished the game with two shots, the third-highest total on the squad, in 69 starting minutes.
Two days later against the Rams, the freshman ended the game in the 106th minute with her Golden Goal to lift San Diego State to an extra-time win. The victory gave the Aztecs the regular-season crown and the top seed in next week's MW Championship. The winning score was her fifth of the season, which tied her for the second-most on the team, and was her second game-winner. In 73 minutes, Utush recorded game highs in shots (3) and shots on goal (2).
On a team level, this is SDSU's sixth player-of-the-week award of the season, surpassing last year's total of five. It is San Diego State's most since 2012, when the Aztecs earned 11 weekly honors. Besides Utush twice, Angela Mitchell (offensive), Meggie Gulczynski (defensive), Stacie Moran (defensive) and Mariah Helmer (offensive) have each been named the MW's top player during 2014.
Utush and San Diego State return to action on Friday, Oct. 31, when they play host to New Mexico at 7 p.m. PT atop SDSU Sports Deck. Admission is free and the contest will stream live online at GoAztecs.com via the Mountain West Network.
Following the Senior Night game, all eyes will shift to San Diego State University as it plays host to the MW Championship, Nov. 4 (quarterfinals: 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.), Nov. 6 (semifinals: 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.) and Nov. 8 (championship: 7 p.m.). Tickets are available by phone at (619) 283-7378, in person in advance at Qualcomm Stadium Window E (M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.), or in person on game day at SDSU Sports Deck, beginning one our prior to the first game (cash only). Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth (3-14), seniors (55+) or students (any student with valid ID). Group tickets are also available for groups of 10 or more at $5 apiece. These tickets must be purchased in advanced (by phone or in person at Qualcomm Stadium) and are not available on game day.