LOGAN, Utah - Utah State soccer senior forward Sara Taylor has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Sept. 25. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
 
It is Taylor's second time in her career being named USU's student-athlete of the week.
 
With their sponsorship of the Student-Athlete of the Week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships.
 
The product of Centerville, Utah, scored the deciding goal in Utah State's 2-1 win over UNLV on Sunday, also assisting on the Aggies' opening goal of the match. Taylor logged 93 minutes, recording two shots on goal and six total shots to lead USU to a 2-0 week to open Mountain West play. 
 
Utah State soccer's 2022 season continues this week with a pair of in-conference road matches as it plays at Wyoming (1-4-4, 0-1-1 MW) on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 4 p.m., and at Colorado State (4-3-3, 1-0-1 MW) on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network and available at www.utahstateaggies.com/watch.
 
Fans can follow the Aggie soccer program on Twitter, @USUSoccer, on Facebook at /USUSoccer and on Instagram, @USUSoccer. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
 
Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
 
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY – Freshman Logan Garnica (Springville, Utah) won his first collegiate race last weekend at the Idaho State Open as he completed the 6-kilometer Centennial Cross Country Course in 18:25. Garnica led Utah State to the team title, as well, as the Aggies finished with 21 points, well ahead of second-place Idaho State's 74 points.
 
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY – Sophomore Madison Strasner (St. George, Utah) led Utah State to a first-place finish last weekend at the Idaho State Open in Pocatello, Idaho. Strasner was the first Aggie runner to cross the finish line as she placed third overall in the 6K race with a time of 22:34.3. Utah State finished with 25 team points, while the host Bengals finished in second with 50 points.
 
FOOTBALL – Senior defensive tackle Hale Motu'apuaka (Honolulu, Hawaii) had a career game in Utah State's 34-24 Mountain West home loss to UNLV last weekend as he had a career-high seven tackles, to go along with a career-best 2.0 sacks and a career-best 2.5 tackles for loss.
 
GOLF – Sophomore Esteban Jaramillo (Bogota, Colombia) tied for 10th at 2-over 218 (70-71-77) last week at the Valpo Fall Invitational in Chesterton, Indiana. It marked the second time this fall he has finished in the top 10 for the Aggies, who placed 12th as a team at the Valpo Invite. Jaramillo finished with 11 birdies for the tournament to tie for eighth in the field of 99 golfers.
 
VOLLEYBALL – Senior middle blocker Kennedi Boyd (Alpine, Utah) led Utah State to a 1-1 Mountain West home record this week with a 3-2 win against Air Force and a 3-0 loss to New Mexico. Against the Falcons, Boyd hit .238 (8-3-21) and added five blocks, four digs, one service ace and one assist. And against the Lobos, she hit .368 (10-3-19) and added five blocks, one dig, one service ace and one assist. For the week, Boyd hit .300 (18-6-40) and averaged 2.25 kills and 1.25 blocks per set.
 
2022-23 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners
Aug. 29 – Kylee Stokes, Volleyball
Sept. 5 – Diera Walton, Soccer
Sept. 12 – Shelby Capllonch, Volleyball
Sept. 19 – Whitney Lopez, Soccer
Sept. 26 – Sara Taylor, Soccer
 
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