Sept. 2, 2008

LAS VEGAS - UNLV's Alicia Lugo was named the Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday. Lugo is the first Rebel to earn weekly honors this season, and it's the third weekly MWC honor in her career.

Lugo, a junior goalkeeper and native of Lancaster, Calif., did not allow a goal over two games this past weekend while leading UNLV to two victories in the UNLV Rebel Classic. She played the first 62 minutes of UNLV's win over Nevada, Reno, on Aug. 29 and left with the Rebels leading 5-0. In a 1-0 victory over Pacific, she made three saves to earn her second shutout of the season. Lugo has now gone 299 consecutive minutes without allowing a score, and has given up just one goal all season.

The Rebels have also moved up in the regional rankings, as they are now 10th in this week's Soccer Buzz West Region, their highest rank since the 2004 season, and also received votes in the Soccer Buzz Top 25 team for the first time since 2004.

UNLV, 3-0-1, will return to action this weekend with two games on the road in California. First the Rebels will meet Cal State Northridge on Friday at 4:30 pm, and then follow with a game at Long Beach State on Sunday at 12 pm.