BYU forward Michele Murphy Vasconcelos was named this week’s West Coast Conference player of the week for her assist on the game-winning goal against Long Beach State.
Vasconcelos, formerly known by her maiden name Murphy, had the assist on both of the Cougars’ goals against Long Beach State to help win the game for BYU 2-1 on Sept. 26. Vasconcelos set up midfielder Elena Medeiros to score the first goal of the night in California.
Vasconcelos has been a key player for the BYU offense this season. She has started every game for the Cougars thus far and has demonstrated her ability to be a team player as she has continually worked to score goals and create openings for her teammates. Vasconcelos understands what it means to be a team player as demonstrated in her praise for her teammates after she scored the game-winning goal against UNLV earlier this season.
“It helps to have teammates like this because we are always encouraging each other and pushing each other,” Vasconcelos said.
Vasconcelos created an opening for forward Ashley Hatch to score the game winning goal for the Cougars later on in the game against Long Beach State. The goal by Hatch brought the score to 2-1 and secured the win for the Cougars.
This is Vasconcelos’ second time in her career to be named WCC player of the week and she is the first BYU player to receive the honor this year. The two assists against Long Beach state marked her 15th and 16th career assists and tied her for most multi-assist games in program history.
The Cougars are currently ranked number four in the nation with a record of 8-1-1 in preseason play.
