PDL News Release
Thursday, July 19, 2012
TAMPA, Fla. – The PDL announced its Team of the Week for the final week of the 2012 season today, honoring WSA Winnipeg forward Moses Danto as Player of the Week after he scored five goals and added two assists in his side’s pair of victories over the final weekend of the regular season.
Danto, a former Canadian U17 international and pictured right, scored both goals in Winnipeg’s 2-1 win against the Springfield Demize on Friday night, opening the scoring in the 24th minute and recording what would prove to be the game-winner just before the hour-mark after Martin Narvaez had tied the game for the Demize early in the second half.
The following day, Danto ended the season in style as he recorded a hat trick and two assists as WSA took a 6-3 win against the Demize. With the game tied 1-1 late in the first half, Danto give his side the lead for good with two goals in seven minutes, putting Winnipeg up 3-1 at the break. After the Demize pulled a goal back with 17 minutes to go, Danto played provider for a pair of goals by fellow forward Ali Musse in the 78th and 80th minutes before capping his hat trick in the final minute.
Joining Danto on the Team of the Week is the Thunder Bay Chill’s Sullivan Silva, who claimed the PDL’s scoring title with four goals and two assists as the Chill prepared for the playoffs with two wins against the Kansas City Brass. At the opposite end of the field, Toronto goalkeeper Ben Ur earned three victories for the Lynx while conceding just two goals in three games against River City, FC London and Hamilton.
Orange County Blue Star midfielder Enrique Cardenas also had a standout week, scoring four goals and adding three assists as his side closed the season with a pair of victories, while Juan de Dios Ibarra led the Laredo Heat to the Mid South Division championship with three goals in their two wins. Also playing a playoff-clinching role was Real Maryland’s David Neuberth, as his two goals earned the Monarchs a 2-2 draw with the West Virginia Chaos and a spot in the postseason.
The PDL Conference Championships arrive this weekend as the four teams that will advance to the national semifinals are determined. The weekend begins with the Southern Conference Championship in Ocala, Fla., where the host Stampede face the Austin Aztex and the Laredo Heat play Orlando City U23 in Friday night’s semifinals.
The other three sets of semifinals arrive on Saturday, with the Eastern Championship host Carolina Dynamo facing Reading United and the top-seeded Ocean City Nor’easters playing the Ottawa Fury. In the Central Championships, the host and regular season champion Michigan Bucks face the Real Colorado Foxez and the Thunder Bay Chill meet FC London, while in the Western Conference, the host Ventura County Fusion play the Portland Timbers U-23s, and the Sounders FC U23 meet FC Tucson.
All four championships conclude on Sunday evening, with the Southern Championship at 5 p.m. ET, the Eastern and Central at 6 p.m. ET, and the Western at 5 p.m. PT. To stay up to date with all of the action from the weekend, follow the PDL’s Twitter feed (@USLPDL) for live updates, and the league’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/uslpdl), which will provide nightly updates of scores from across North America, and links to news, previews and game reports.
PDL Team of the Week
| Pos | Player | Team | Highlights |
| GK | Ben Ur | Toronto | Led the Lynx to three victories, recording 31 saves and one shutout |
| D | Stewart Givens | Michigan | Found the net as the Bucks clinched the regular season title |
| D | David Rodriguez | Reading | Scored a stoppage-time winner to earn United second in Mid Atlantic |
| D | Reid Hukeri | Tucson | Had pair of goals in side’s win against Southern California |
| M | Juan de Dios Ibarra | Laredo | Had three goals in two games as Heat claimed division title |
| M | Enrigue Cardenas | Orange County | Four goals, three assists in two weekend wins for Blue Star |
| M | Sean Sepe | Long Island | Scored twice in Rough Riders’ win against Brooklyn |
| M | Logan McDaniel | Des Moines | Two goals and an assist as Menace ended season with victory |
| F | Moses Danto | Winnipeg | Five goals and two assists allowed WSA to end on a high |
| F | David Neuberth | Real Maryland | Two goals allowed Monarchs to seal playoff berth |
| F | Sullivan Silva | Thunder Bay | Claimed Scoring title with four goals, two assists in final week |
Honorable Mention – Brooklyn: Christian Galindo, Stefan Manz; Carolina: Hakan Ilhan, Danny Lovitz; Ft. Lauderdale: Karol Chorak; Fraser Valley: Mark Village; Kansas City: Jordan Green; LA Misioneros: Jaime Chavez; Michigan: Kenny Uzoigwe, Tom Catalano; Nashville: Robert Beebe, Iyassu Bekele; New Orleans: Yaz Davids, Emmanuel Yamson; North Sound: Andrew Wildfong; Ocala: Karamba Janneh; Ocean City: Markhus Lacroix, John McCarthy; Palmetto FC: Brandon Ledgeway, Ryan Hurst; River City: Lin Mfeka; Tampa: Kenny Hogg; Toronto: Callum Home; Southern West Virginia: Erik Mozzo; Vancouver: Gagandeep Dosanjh; Virginia Beach: Devin Pierce, Luis Zamora; Westchester: Richard Heredia; West Texas: Alonso Jimenez; Worcester: Eric Robertson.