DENVER – San Josè State's David Sweeney has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for Mar. 22-28.
Sweeney, a sophomore goalkeeper from Morgan Hill, Calif. (Sobrato HS), helped lead the Spartans to the team's biggest victory of the year on Friday afternoon. The club notched its first shutout of the season while tallying its highest goal output of the year in a 4-0 win at California Baptist.
"David's clean sheet was well-earned," says head coach Simon Tobin. "It is a reflection of his hard work and the collective defending of the whole team."
#SweeneySaves@David12604132 ??pic.twitter.com/VxHPXePx1N
— San José State Men's Soccer (@SanJoseStateMS) March 27, 2021
In addition to the clean sheet, Sweeney made three saves while facing six shots in the shutout effort. On the season, he boasts a 1.10 goals against average and has been in goal for every minute of the 2020-21 campaign.
This marks the second weekly honor of Sweeney's career and the second for the Spartans this season. In addition, this marks the first season since 2017 (David Heredia and Andy Rios) that the program has earned multiple weekly awards from the conference office in the same year.
first shutout of the season
— San José State Men's Soccer (@SanJoseStateMS) March 27, 2021
fifth shutout of his career
shoutout to the sophomore pic.twitter.com/5Waqe00ziq
Sweeney is the first Spartan to garner multiple weekly honors since Rory Knibbs accomplished the feat in the 2014 and 2015 campaigns.
SJSU will look to stay hot when it visits Utah Valley for its final away match of the regular season on Wednesday night. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. (MT) in Orem.
Other defensive nominees: Grand Canyon's Pedro Mondrago helped the Lopes defense earn a 5-1 win at home over Dixie State … UNLV's Gabriel Claudio led the Rebels to their fourth shutout in the last six matches with a 1-0 win over California Baptist … UT Rio Grande Valley's Trevor Schneider made two saves in a 3-1 win over Air Force.