PDL Round-Up
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Portland Timbers U-23s standout Steven Evans led the contingent of current and former PDL players honored for their performances in the opening weekend of NCAA Men’s Soccer, with the University of Portland midfielder earning West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors after scoring twice in the Pilots' 4-0 victory against Cal State Fullerton in the Wilson Titan Classic.
Evans, who had four goals and an assist for the Timbers U-23s this summer, opened his account this fall in the 16th minute against Titans before knocking home a penalty kick to put the game out of reach in the second half. The junior has been part of the Timbers U-23s for the past four seasons, his first coming before he had played a game for the Pilots.
A member of the 2010 PDL Championship side, Evans was joined in being honored by his former Timbers U-23s teammate Dylan Tucker-Ganges, who was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week after leading the University of Washington to a pair of victories in the opening weekend. Tucker-Ganges, who played for the Timbers U-23s in 2011, had a goal in both games as the Huskies defeated Gonzaga and Cal Poly.
Former Reading United midfielder Chris Harmon joined Tucker-Ganges on the TDS Team of the Week, and also earned Player of the Week honors in the Colonial Athletic Association after scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist in Old Dominion’s season-opening 4-0 victory against Navy. Harmon, who appeared 11 times for United in 2011, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 37th minute before adding a late insurance tally, while also providing the assist for Jordan LeBlanc’s finish for the Monarchs.
Current Reading United standout, and 2012 All-League selection, Deshorn Brown was honored by College Soccer News on its Team of the Week, with the junior scoring a pair of goals in his debut for the University of Central Florida after transferring from the University of Mobile. Brown, who finished tied for the PDL lead with 13 goals this summer, led the Knights past Florida Atlantic, moving them to No. 25 in the TDS weekly rankings.
The VSI Tampa Flames’ Ben Sweat joined Brown on the CSN Team of the Week after the University of South Florida standout scored the game-winning goal for the Bulls in their 2-1 win against Michigan in a nationally televised contest on Fox Soccer Friday night. Sweat knocked home the rebound from a penalty to allow the No. 5 Bulls to open the season with a victory against the side that had knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament in 2010.
Elsewhere, Reading United’s Ryan Forgue took Defensive Player of the Week honors in the Big Ten after leading Penn State to a 3-0 victory against Stetson that saw the Nittany Lions give up no shots on goal.
The Jersey Express’ Noah Sadaoui took Player of the Week honors in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, with the sophomore forward scoring a hat trick in Saint Peter’s 3-1 victory against Seton Hall. The victory was the Peacocks’ first against Seton Hall since 2003, and their first season-opening win since 2007, with the 19-year-old leading the way.
The Michigan Bucks’ Miche’Le Lipari was named the Summit League’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals in 38 seconds to lead Oakland to a 3-0 victory against New Hampshire in Friday night’s season opener.
Lipari’s former teammate with the Bucks, goalkeeper Daniel Withrow, was named the Conference USA Goalkeeper of the Week after he recorded a five-save shutout in Marshall’s 2-0 victory against Wright State. The award was the second of Withrow’s career with the Thundering Herd.