SALT LAKE CITY -- Senior All-American Aleisha Rose was named the 2003 Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday after guiding the Cougars to a 12-5-2 regular season record.
Rose, the most decorated soccer athlete in BYU history, won the award after her dominating play in the midfield throughout the conference season.
This is the first year that the MWC has awarded separate Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors instead of a single player of the year.
This is not the first time Rose has been cited as the top soccer player in the MWC. As a freshman Rose won the MWC Freshman of the Year and then as a sophomore was named the 2001 MWC Player of the Year.
Rose and the Cougars get underway in the first-round of the MWC Tournament with the second seeded Air Force on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 9:00 a.m. (MDT) at Rice-Eccles Stadium and not Ute Field as was previously announced by the conference.