Zardes Named Player of the Week

PDL News Release

Thursday, June 28, 2012

TAMPA, Fla. – The PDL announced its Team of the Week for the eighth week of the 2012 season today, honoring Ventura County Fusion forward Gyasi Zardes as Player of the Week after he scored four goals in two games in the team’s trip to Utah, leading his side to a pair of victories and first place in the Southwest Division.

Zardes, an All-America selection by the NSCAA last fall after a standout sophomore season for CSU Bakersfield, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for the Fusion in their 2-0 victory against the BYU Cougars this past Friday night. He then followed that performance with a hat trick against the third-placed Ogden Outlaws, allowing the Fusion to sit in first place in the Southwest Division.

Considered the No. 16 upperclassmen in the country at the end of the last college soccer season by TopDrawerSoccer.com, Zardes has had a standout spell with the Fusion. His four goals during the weekend gave him six goals in four games for the side as it pursues the division title and a place in the playoffs.

Zardes was joined on the Team of the Week’s attack by a pair of players who fired their teams to victory with hat tricks. The Vermont Voltage’s Bozidar Jelovac led his side to its first victory of the season on Sunday, as his three goals keyed a 5-3 win against the Seacoast United Phantoms, while the Jersey Express’ Joseph Ovenseri moved into the PDL lead with 11 goals as he led his side to a 4-3 win against the Brooklyn Knights.

Elsewhere, Sounders FC U23 midfielder Fernando Monge’s game-winning goal and assist in his side’s 4-3 win against the Portland Timbers U-23s this past Friday earned him a berth on the team, while Michigan’s Tom Catalano had a goal and three assists in the Bucks 5-0 win against the Cincinnati Kings. Victoria midfielder Jordan Hughes had a pair of goals in the Highlanders’ 3-0 win against the Kitsap Pumas, and the quartet was completed by Daniel Burnham of the Ogden Outlaws, who struck twice in his side’s victory against the Pali Blues.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 defender James Farenhorst took Team of the Week honors for a second consecutive week as his two goals and solid defensive performance helped his side past the Fraser Valley Mariners, and he was joined by Trey Jasenski, who led the Pioneers to a pair of shutouts and four points during the week. The defensive trio was completed by the Panama City Beach Pirates’ Marquel Waldron, who played a key role in his side’s 2-0 win against the FC Jax Destroyers, while the goalkeeping honors went to the Austin Aztex’s Devin Cook, whose seven-save shutout of the Laredo Heat helped his side take a crucial 1-0 win in the Mid South Division playoff race.

The PDL season continues this weekend with 45 games scheduled from Friday through Sunday. Highlighting the schedule is the contest between the top two teams in the Southwest Division as FC Tucson hosts the Ventura County Fusion on Saturday night at 7 p.m. PT. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting this season, but Tucson will be hoping to take all three points and close the gap at the top of the division standings.

Friday night’s schedule sees an important game for FC London, as it hosts the Michigan Bucks at 7:30 p.m. ET trying to close the gap on the front-runners in the Great Lakes Division while boosting their own playoff hopes. The Washington Crossfire will also try to maintain their newly-acquired lead in the Northwest Division as they visit the Kitsap Pumas at Bremerton Memorial Stadium at 7:30 p.m. PT.

On Saturday night, the Fredericksburg Hotspur and West Virginia Chaos will try to stay in contention in the South Atlantic Division race when they meet at the Chaos’ Schoenbaum Stadium, while the Springfield Demize visit the Des Moines Menace for a key contest in the Heartland Divison playoff race. Rounding out the weekend on Sunday, the top two teams in the South Atlantic Division meet as the Carolina Dynamo visit Real Maryland FC, while VSI Tampa will try to keep pace with the Ocala Stampede and IMG Bradenton Academics as they visit the Mississippi Brilla.

Stay up to date with all of the action through the PDL’s Twitter feed and Facebook page, which will provide nightly updates of scores from across North America, and links to news, previews and game reports. 

PDL Team of the Week

Honorable Mention – Austin: Kekuta Manneh, Travis Golden; Baltimore: Kingsley Onuokwa, Christian Barreiro; Carolina: Scott Goodwin, Hakan Ilhan; CFC: Justin Brewer, Mario Dimiceli; Chicago Inferno: Peter McKeown; El Paso: Michael Griego, Naoyas Aizawa; GPS Portland: Sean Hoek, Blaike Woodruff; Jersey: Rafael Diaz; Kansas City: Kyle Greig; LA Misioneros: Cesar Sameniego, Aldo Iniguez; Laredo: Juan de Dios Ibarra; Long Island: Keith Detelj; Michigan: Adam Grinwis; Nermin Crnkic; New Jersey: Daniel Rasoilo, Jack McVey; New Orleans: Patrick Mullins; North Sound: Elmer Rodriguez, Marshall Kosaka; Ocala: Douglas Dos Santos; Ocean City: Emmanuel Collie; Markhus Lacroix; Palmetto: Hunter Norton, Brandon Ledgeway; Portland: Mark Sherrod; Reading: Pedro Ribeiro; Real Maryland: David Neuberth, Aboucarim Ndaw; Tampa: Kyle Nichols; Texas Dutch Lions: Jacques Polak, Dennis Peragon; Thunder Bay: Jose Altamirano, Juan Velez; Tucson: Danny Toia; Sounders U23: Aodhan Quinn, Sean Okoli; Vancouver: Bobby Jhutty, Lucas Menz; Ventura County: Mickey Daly, Kennedy Chongo; West Virginia: Dion Peters; Worcester: Oliver Blum.