Nov. 8, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV freshman Alicia Lugo, fresh off an amazing week in the goal after helping the Rebels to the 2006 Mountain West Conference tournament title, was named to Soccer America's national Team of the Week on Wednesday. Lugo is the second player this year to be named to SA's Team of the Week and the fourth in school history.

Lugo, a 5-5 goalkeeper from Lancaster, Calif., had not played in a game since Sept. 17, but entered the Rebels' MWC first round game against Wyoming following an injury to starter Ciera Nero. She posted five saves in the 1-0 shutout of the Cowgirls, and then against a pair of top-20 teams, notched back-to-back double-overtime shutouts against No. 19 BYU and 10th-ranked Utah. Both games went to PK shootouts, and Lugo blocked BYU's first two shots as UNLV won the shootout 4-1 to advance to the championship game. The Rebels then won the title by edging the host Utes 6-5 in the PK shootout, after Lugo made a career-high 11 saves.

Lugo currently ranks third in the MWC with a 0.76 GAA, and also has 36 saves and three shutouts for the season.

The Rebels, 9-10-3 overall, are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season as they take on third-ranked UCLA on Friday at 5:30 pm in a first round game in Los Angeles.