Bolton and Iritxity Irigoyen Selected as BIG EAST Offensive and Defensive POW
3/8/2021 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Liberty senior forward Jill Bolton and freshman goalkeeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen garnered awards from the BIG EAST Conference, Monday afternoon. Bolton has been selected as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, while Iritxity Irigoyen was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week.
In addition to Bolton and Irixity Irigoyen's awards, sophomore forward Daniella Rhodes has been recognized on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for a second straight week.
Bolton is receiving the honor for the second time this season and third time in her career after earning the distinction on Feb. 22. Iritxity Irigoyen has now been tabbed the conference's defensive player of the week in back-to-back weeks.
Bolton led the team with eight points on three goals and two assists in last weekend's wins over Old Dominion. She scored the Lady Flames' final two goals of Saturday's game, a 4-1 triumph over the Monarchs. The senior also assisted on Rhodes' first goal of the game in the first minute and her second goal at 34:24, which made it 2-1 Liberty and turned out to be the game winner.
On Sunday, Bolton found the back of the cage in the 47th minute on a feed from freshman Reagan Underwood, putting the Lady Flames in front 2-0. In seven games this season, she is the team leader in assists (7) and ranks second in goals (7) and points (21).
Iritxity Irigoyen started both games in goal for Liberty this past weekend against ODU. The freshman from Buenos Aires, Argentina made four saves in Saturday's triumph. On Sunday, the goalkeeper made three saves in a 2-0 shutout of the Monarchs. Her third and final save of the contest came with two seconds remaining in the third quarter, preserving a 1-0 Liberty advantage.
In six appearances this season (four starts), Iritxity Irigoyen is 5-0 with a 0.67 goals-against-average, .842 save percentage, 16 saves and two shutouts.
Rhodes scored three goals and added an assist for seven points in the two games versus ODU. Two of her three goals over the weekend were game-winning goals. The Durban, South Africa, native paces the team in goals (11) and points (26) this season and is tied for second in assists (4).
Unbeaten Liberty (7-0, 6-0 BIG EAST) will head to Philadelphia, Pa., for a weekend series versus Connecticut (3-0, 2-0 BIG EAST). The Lady Flames and the Huskies will battle in a pair of neutral site contests at Temple's Howarth Field, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's contest will start at 3:30 p.m., while Sunday's game will begin at 2:30 p.m.
