SAN FRANCISCO – Elias Katsaros of the Aztec men's soccer team was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week after netting three goals, including two in SDSU's 2-1 upset over No. 6 Denver last night.
Katsaros (Seattle, Wash.) also scored in the Aztecs' 5-0 win over UNLV Friday. All three of his goals came on headers off set pieces.
"We are so proud of Elias and this honor," Head coach Ryan Hopkins said. "As I always say, individual accolades come from team success and Elias would be the first one to thank his teammates for this award. He has developed and grown as a human over the last three years, which is one of the goals for the young men in our program."
A three-year starter on defense, Katsaros had attempted just one shot through his first 27 games as an Aztec and then scored three goals on three attempts over the weekend.
Katsaros has been recognized by every national soccer outlet this week. He was also named to the College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer National Teams of the Week and was also tabbed one of Soccer America's "Three Stars of the Week."
Katsaros is the only Aztec to win the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week award since the organization started tracking it in 2010.
The Aztecs begin Pac-12 play this week with matches at California (1-1-3) Thursday and at No. 2 Stanford (4-0-1) Sunday. Both will be shown on Pac-12 Networks.