PDL News Release
Thursday, May 8, 2014
TAMPA, Fla. – The PDL announced its Team of the Week for the first week of the 2014 season on Thursday, with BYU Cougars forward Blake Frischknecht named as Player of the Week after he recorded a goal and an assist in his side’s 3-1 victory against the Fresno Fuego on Saturday night.
The Cougars trailed the Fuego at the break in the opening game of the season for both sides, but Frischknecht led a second-half comeback that saw him provide the assist on Garrett Gee’s 58th-minute goal, which proved to be the game-winner, and then wrap up all three points with the Cougars’ third nine minutes from the end.
Frischknecht was joined in the Team of the Week’s attack by Victoria’s Carlo Basso, who had a goal and an assist as the defending Western Conference champions opened their season with a 3-2 win against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23. Las Vegas’ Emmanuel Ayim also earned selection after scoring the first goal in Mobsters history as they took a 1-0 victory against the Albuquerque Sol F.C.
The OC Pateadores Blues led the way with three selections to the Team of the Week, as Tre Hayes, Thomas Janjigian and David Elias were all named to the side after a 3-0 win against the Ventura County Fusion. Hayes led the Blues offensively as he recorded a pair of assists, while Elias saved a penalty as part of a four-save shutout and Janjigian performed solidly in defense to help his side make a positive start to the new season.
Other players named to the Team of the Week include Victoria’s Wes Barrett, who came off the substitute bench to spark the Highlanders to their comeback victory against the Whitecaps U-23. He is joined in the midfield by Vancouver’s Cody Cook, who put the Whitecaps U-23 early against Victoria, and Albuquerque’s Zachary Lawrence, who put in a solid performance in the Sol’s inaugural contest.
The PDL season continues this weekend with 16 games on the schedule and includes the debut of 2013 champion the Austin Aztex, who host the Houston Dutch Lions on Saturday night. Other notable games include the debuts of Floridians F.C., which visits the SW Florida Adrenaline, the San Jose Earthquakes U23, who face the Ventura County Fusion in their inaugural contest on Friday night, and the Cincinnati Dutch Lions, who welcome two-time World Player of the Year Ruud Gullit as their guest as they host the River City Rovers.
PDL Team of the Week
| Pos | Player | Team | Highlights |
| GK | David Elias | Orange County | Had a four-save shutout, including a penalty save, in opening victory |
| D | Dennis Garcia | Las Vegas | Solid defensively as Mobsters earned shutout in first contest |
| D | Emmanuel Lartey | BYU | Helped contain Fresno’s attack as Cougars rallied for victory |
| D | Thomas Janjigian | Orange County | Strong performance helped Blues shut out solid Fusion attack |
| M | Wes Barrett | Victoria | Sparked Highlanders comeback with goal moments after entering |
| M | Zachary Lawrence | Albuquerque | Solid throughout as Sol fell in inaugural contest against Las Vegas |
| M | Cody Cook | Vancouver | Had the opening goal, only for Whitecaps U-23 to fall in Vancouver |
| M | Tre Hayes | Orange County | Pair of assists were key to Blues’ victory against Fusion |
| F | Emmanuel Ayim | Las Vegas | Had first goal in team history, which proved enough to beat Sol |
| F | Blake Frischknecht | BYU | Goal and assist led Cougars’ second-half rally against Fresno |
| F | Carlo Basso | Victoria | Had a goal, assist as Highlanders got season off to winning start |
Honorable Mention – Albuquerque: Travis Campbell; BYU: Garrett Gee, Pedro Vasconcelos; Fresno: Jose Cuevas, Gaston Cignetti; Las Vegas: Lewis Wilcox, Francky Halley; Orange County: William Raygoza, Dersu Abolfathi; Vancouver: Ali Musse, Yassin Essa; Ventura County: James Kiffe, Kennedy Chongo; Victoria: Riley O’Neill, Cameron Stokes.