USL PRO News Release
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
TAMPA, Fla. – USL PRO announced its Team of the Week for the fifth week of the 2012 season today, honoring Rochester Rhinos midfielder Drew Cost as Player of the Week after his strong performance helped the Rhinos remain perfect at 4-0 this season.
Cost’s long pass to JC Banks helped set up the only goal of the game as the Rhinos took a 1-0 victory against the Charlotte Eagles in their home opener at Sahlen’s Stadium on Saturday night, but his presence was felt throughout the contest as he not only distributed well, along with partner Tyler Rosenlund, but also helped defensively as the Eagles were restricted to six shots, and forced just two saves from goalkeeper Kristian Nicht.
Stepping into a more prominent role in his second professional season, Cost has started all four games for the Rhinos this season. He was joined on the Team of the Week by Rhinos teammate Jack Traynor, who had a strong performance defensively after starting at left back and moving to right back for the final half-hour against the Eagles.
The Charleston Battery and Wilmington Hammerheads also each had two players named to the Team of the Week, with the Battery duo of midfielder Nicki Paterson and Colin Falvey earning their selections after a pair of impressive performances in a 4-0 win against Antigua Barracuda FC on Friday night. Paterson earned a place on the team for a second consecutive week after having a goal and two assists against the Barracudas, putting him tied for the league lead with eight points, while Falvey performed admirably against Peter Byers and the Antigua attack.
Wilmington’s Andriy Budnyy and Jack Avesyan each scored a pair of goals in separate games as the Hammerheads moved into fourth place in the league standings. Budnyy, who like Paterson was named for a second consecutive week, had a pair of excellent finishes in Wilmington’s 3-0 win against Antigua on Wednesday night, while Avesyan had a remarkable performance in front of friends and family as he returned to California. The former Ventura County Fusion standout gave Wilmington the lead twice against the Los Angeles Blues on Sunday evening in a 2-2 draw.
Elsewhere, Orlando City’s Ian Fuller was recognized for his outstanding performance off the substitute’s bench, scoring the game-winning goal and adding an assist as the Lions defeated Pittsburgh 3-2 on Saturday night, while the Dayton Dutch Lions’ Gibson Bardley was selected after scoring the club’s first goal of the season in a 1-1 draw against the Richmond Kickers.
USL PRO Team of the Week
| Pos | Player | Team | Highlights |
| GK | Eric Reed | Charlotte | Made a pair of strong saves late to preserves win against Harrisburg |
| D | Jack Traynor | Rochester | Played both fullback positions dominantly in 1-0 win against Eagles |
| D | Colin Falvey | Charleston | Contained the attacking threat posed by Antigua well |
| D | Sascha Goerres | Richmond | Was industrious up and down field throughout Kickers’ draw in Dayton |
| M | Allan Russell | Los Angeles | Had a goal and assist as Blues took their first win of season |
| M | Nicki Paterson | Charleston | Pulled the strings in midfield as Battery took 4-0 victory |
| M | Drew Cost | Rochester | Played key role in Rhinos’ goal, kept midfield tight throughout |
| M | Jack Avesyan | Wilmington | Had two goals in return to California against Blues on Sunday |
| F | Gibson Bardsley | Dayton | Scored Dutch Lions’ first goal of the season in draw against Kickers |
| F | Andriy Budnyy | Wilmington | Pair of goals led Hammerheads to easy win against Antigua |
| F | Ian Fuller | Orlando | Had game-winning goal, assist off bench against Pittsburgh |
Honorable Mention – Charleston: Sallieu Bundu; Charlotte: Joseph Kabwe, Jorge Herrera; Dayton: Nixon Dias, Joel DeLass; Harrisburg: Antoine Hoppenot; Los Angeles: Matt Fondy, Irving Garcia; Orlando: Dennis Chin, Charlie Campbell; Pittsburgh: Matt Kassel; Richmond: Matt Delicâte; Rochester: Tam McManus; Wilmington: Chukwudi Chijindu, Bryce Taylor.