Liberty’s Bolton and Iritxity Irigoyen Collect BIG EAST Weekly Awards
8/31/2021 10:16:15 AM | Field Hockey
Jill Bolton and Azul Iritxity Irigoyen of the Liberty field hockey team garnered recognition in the first week of BIG EAST awards. Bolton has been named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, and Iritxity Irigoyen is this week’s BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week.
Bolton, a fifth-year senior from Souderton, Pa., is receiving the honor for the fifth time in her career. The forward paced the Liberty offense in a pair of wins last week at UC Davis and California, tallying a team-best four goals, two assists, a team-high 10 points.
Bolton scored three goals against UC Davis and added an assist to match a career high with seven points in No. 10 Liberty’s 7-1 win over the Aggies. Her three-goal effort was the third of her career. Bolton’s goals came in the 34th, 38th and 47th minutes, as the Lady Flames scored five times in the first 16:15 of the second half.
On Sunday at Cal, Bolton scored at the 14:11 mark, her fourth goal of the year, putting Liberty ahead 2-0 in an eventual 3-0 triumph over the Golden Bears. The senior also assisted on Daniella Rhodes’ goal in the 28th minute.
Iritxity Irigoyen earns her fifth career BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week distinction. The goalkeeper posted a 2-0 record with a 0.50 goals-against-average and six saves in games at UC Davis and Cal. The sophomore recorded a two-save shutout for the Lady Flames at Cal, her fourth career clean sheet.
In Liberty’s victory at UC Davis, Iritxity Irigoyen made four stops in a victory. Through 17 career games (15 starts), she holds a 13-3 record with a 1.10 GAA, 70 saves and a .805 save percentage.
No. 10 Liberty (3-0) defeated No. 25 Stanford 5-1 on Monday to stay unbeaten on the season. The Lady Flames will be back in action next Tuesday in their home opener against No. 4 Northwestern (2-0). Match time is scheduled for noon at the Liberty Field Hockey Field.
