SAN DIEGO – San Diego State women's soccer student-athletes Denise Castro and Alexa Madueno have been named Mountain West Offensive and Defensive players of the week, the conference announced from its office in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Monday. This is the second time Castro has been named MW offensive player of the week this season, and is the first time Madonna has earned defensive player of the week honors this season.
Denise Castro scored once on the weekend as the Aztecs earned wins over fellow top of the table teams in the Mountain West in Boise State and Utah State. Castro had three shots with one coming on target in the 1-0 win over Boise State on Thursday. She then scored the game winning goal in SDSU's 2-1 win over Utah State on Sunday. She had five shots against Utah State with three coming on target. Castro now has seven goals and four assists on the season, as well as three goals and three assists in conference play. For her career Castro now has 22 goals, putting her in a tie for eighth all-time at San Diego State.
Alexa Madueno was in goal for the Aztecs as they took home wins over fellow top of the table rivals Utah State and Boise State this past week. Madueno gave up just one goal in 180 minutes of action. She made nine total stops with four coming in the 1-0 win over Boise State and five coming in the 2-1 win over Utah State. The clean sheet in the win on Thursday was the 20th of Madueno's career and she now sits fourth all-time in San Diego State history in career shutouts.
The Aztecs tallied their 10th win of the season on Sunday, marking the first time the team has earned double-digits wins in a season since 2019 when SDSU finished 10-9-1 and won the Mountain West regular season championship. The 10-2-2 start to the 2023 season is the Aztecs' best start to a season since 2013 when SDSU started 11-2-1, and then won the MW regular season and tournament championships before earning a spot in the NCAA tournament. SDSU is now one of 22 teams in the country to have at least 10 wins in 2023.
SDSU hits the road for the second time in conference play on Thursday when they take on UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. PT.