Oct. 19, 2015
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State freshman Leah Pruitt has been named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. The award marks the second time she has been recognized and is the first two-time winner since Aliyah Utush accomplished the feat a season ago.
Hailing from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Pruitt scored three of SDSU's four goals during a weekend that featured 2-1 victories over Fresno State and San José State. The forward finished the week with team-high totals in goals (3), points (6), shots (9), game-winning goals (2) and penalty kicks (1-1), and added three shots on goal.
In the win over the Bulldogs, Pruitt netted the game-winner in the 65th minute on a penalty kick after being taken down in the box. At the final horn, Pruitt had a game-high six shots and two shots on goal, both of which nearly equaled Fresno State's totals for the game (9 shots, 4 shots on goal).
Two days later against SJSU, Pruitt scored the game-winning goal off a pass from Milan Moses in the 56th minute, which marked the first time she scored in back-to-back games in her young career. The goal was the freshman's team-best eighth of the season, giving her 25 points on the year.
Pruitt, who was named the league's top offensive player back on Aug. 24, collected the fourth weekly honor for SDSU this season. In addition to Pruitt's two awards, Stacie Moran and Jen Rupey were named MW Defensive Players of the Week on Aug. 24 and Oct. 5, respectively.
This is also the fourth consecutive season in which an Aztec has won the league's weekly offensive award at least twice in one year. In 2012, Megan Jurado was a three-time honoree and was followed in 2013 by Hannah Keane, who was recognized twice. Utush, meanwhile, was a two-time winner last year as a true freshman.
San Diego State, which has had at least four MW players of the week five seasons in a row, returns to action on Friday, Oct. 23, when it plays at Air Force. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT start and will stream live at GoAztecs.com via the MW Network.