STATESBORO - Georgia Southern graduate student Marcela Montoya has been named the Sun Belt Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, announced by league officials on Tuesday afternoon.

Montoya scored four goals and had one assist in Georgia Southern's first two wins of the season last week. She tallied a goal an an assist in Thursday's 3-0 win over Jacksonville in the Eagles' home opener in Statesboro. Montoya then followed that up with a hat trick in Sunday's 5-1 victory at Charleston Southern.

The Cape Coral, Fla., native and 2021 Preseason All-Sun Belt selection recorded just the 13th hat trick in Georgia Southern women's soccer history and the first since 2015. The last Georgia Southern player to record a hat trick is also the last Georgia Southern player to earn Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors - Nora El-Shami on October 13, 2015, when she tallied a hat trick vs. Georgia State.

Montoya earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors for the Eagles in 2020 and she now joins El-Shami is the only two Eagles to earn Offensive Player of the Week honors since Georgia Southern joined the league in 2014.

Montoya and the Eagles are in action this afternoon, taking on The Citadel at 4 p.m. in Charleston, S.C.