USL Feature
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Maryland’s Patrick Mullins led the group of USL PDL Players to be honored by their respective conferences this week, with the New Orleans Jesters' standout named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring a pair of goals for the Terrapins in their 4-0 victory against then No.8 Boston College.
A native of Louisiana, Mullins is now tied for the lead in the ACC with 11 points after moving into the Terps’ attack after playing as a midfielder in his freshman year. Joining him there is Reading United AC’s Will Bates, who is having a strong season for the University of Virginia.
BIG TEN
Indiana University’s Alec Purdie was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week as the Indiana Invaders’ alum had three goals and an assist in a pair of victories against Bucknell and Denver University to win the Offensive MVP Award at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament last weekend.
BIG EAST
Seton Hall goalkeeper Anthony Reichwaldt was named the Big East Goalkeeper of the Week after the Central Jersey Spartans standout recorded his first college shutout in a 1-0 victory against Army while helping the Pirates to a 2-0 weekend.
CONFERENCE-USA
Central Florida’s Shawn Doyle took C-USA Goalkeeper of the Week honors after posting a pair of impressive performances for the Knights as they remained perfect of the season. After playing for the IMG Bradenton Academics this summer, Doyle has a 0.63 goals-against average this season for the No.10-ranked Knights.
ATLANTIC SUN
Florida Gulf Coast’s Josey Portillo was named the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week after leading the Eagles to a 4-0 victory against Rhode Island with a goal and assist. Formerly a player for the PDL’s Baton Rouge Capitals, Portillo spent this past summer with the Chicago Fire Premier, scoring five goals and adding an assist for the side in eight regular-season appearances.
BIG WEST
Former Orange County Blue Star goalkeeper Patrick McLain had a standout weekend for Cal Poly, recording a pair of shutouts against Villanova and No.12 West Virginia as the Mustangs hosted the two east coast teams. McLain and the Mustangs head east this weekend, where they will compete in the University of Akron’s Tournament on Friday and Sunday.
IVY LEAGUE
Dartmouth’s Lucky Mkosana was named the Ivy League’s Player of the Week after scoring a pair of goals for the Big Green and adding an assist as they went 1-0-1 in the Dartmouth Classic, a performance that also earned him the tournament’s Offensive MVP award. The Michigan Bucks player had three goals and an assist this summer in the PDL, and helped his side to a 3-3 draw with then No.11 South Florida during the weekend.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Northern Illinois’ Francis Otira, who made four appearances for the Des Moines Menace this summer, was named the MAC Co- Player of the Week after earning MVP honors at the NIU/adidas Invitational during the weekend. The senior defender played the full 90 minutes in a pair of shutout victories against Valparaiso and Portland, helping the Huskies move up to No.13 in the NSCAA Division I poll this week with a 4-0-0 record.
Otira shared the award with Akron’s Scott Caldwell, who had a hand in all four of the Zips’ goals against St. Louis with a goal and three assists. Caldwell, who scored a crucial goal for the Michigan Bucks this summer, giving them victory against the Menace in the Central Conference Playoffs semifinals, leads the Zips with 11 points in four games this season on three goals and five assists.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
Bradley’s Jochen Graf, who had a solid season with the Ventura County Fusion, was named the MVC’s Player of the Week after leading the Braves to a 2-1 overtime victory against then No.11 South Florida. The junior scored just 35 seconds into overtime to down the Bulls, recording the fastest overtime goal in the school’s soccer history.
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Gabriel Bagot took the adidas/NEC Player of the Week award this week after leading St. Francis to its first two victories of the season. The Brooklyn Knights forward had the only goal in the Terriers’ 1-0 victory against Hofstra before adding a goal in the side’s 2-1 victory against Howard.
PATRIOT LEAGUE
Steven Miller’s pair of goals for Colgate earned the Patriot League’s Brine Offensive Player of the Week Award for the Ocean City Nor’easters forward. Miller scoring an 89th-minute game-winner for the Raiders in their 1-0 win against Vermont, and also found the back of the net in their 2-1 win against New Hampshire.
Miller was joined by Nor’easters teammate Kevin Strunk of Lehigh, who was named the Brine Defensive Player of the Week as the Mountain Hawks’ rallied for a 1-1 draw against No.22 California before the side shut out Stanford 1-0.
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Chris Thomas had a standout weekend for Elon as the Carolina Dynamo striker had eight points on two goals and two assists in a 5-0 victory against North Florida on Sunday. Thomas had started the game on the bench, but sparked his side into life with an assist on their opening goal before notching one himself shortly after.
SUMMIT LEAGUE
IPFW’s Max Touloute was named the Summit League’s Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after he had a goal and an assist against No.15 Kentucky and added another goal against Western Michigan. Touloute, who played for the Vermont Voltage this summer, leads the Summit League with 17 points so far this season.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Santa Clara’s Erik Hurtado, who is also a member of the Portland Timbers U-23s program, was named the WCC Player of the Week after scoring a pair of goals in the Broncos’ victory against Cleveland State and Nebraska-Omaha. Hurtado, who had eight goals for the Timbers U-23s this summer, currently leads the WCC with eight points in five games, including a league-high three goals.