USL Feature
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
2010 USL PDL Most Valuable Player Brent Richards is continuing to prove that if you give him scoring opportunities, he’ll take them. The Portland Timbers U23s standout is having a strong senior season, and this week was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time this fall, leading the USL PDL alumni honored in NCAA Division I Soccer this week.
Richards had a pair of goals and an assist for the University of Washington this weekend as the Huskies picked up a pair of conference wins on the road, moving them above .500 in conference play. Richards had an assist in UW’s 2-0 victory against Stanford this past Friday night, and followed up with both of the goals in a 2-1 win against California, including the game-winner in the second overtime.
Richards now has nine goals this season, leading the Huskies and second in the conference to UCLA and Orange County Blue Star’s Chandler Hoffman. After scoring eight goals and adding six assists for the Timbers U23s this summer, Richards should soon be headed into the professional ranks.
BIG TEN
Indiana freshman Eriq Zavaleta picked up his second Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award after scoring three goals for the Hoosiers in a pair of victories against Butler and Michigan. Zavaleta, who was a standout for the Columbus Crew U20s at this summer’s Super-20 League Finals, scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute for the Hoosiers in a 1-0 win against the Bulldogs before tallying twice against the Wolverines, giving him seven goals this season.
CONFERENCE USA
University of Alabama-Birmingham goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week after the former Atlanta Blackhawks player recorded a pair of shutouts for the Blazers in their two victories. Woszczynski made a pair of saves as UAB earned a 2-0 victory against American last Wednesday, but was at his best as the Blazers upset then No.8 Central Florida 1-0 on Saturday night. The senior made three saves in that contest, lowering his goals-against average to 0.97 and earning his third weekly award of the season.
ATLANTIC 10
La Salle goalkeeper John McCarthy was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week after the Ocean City Nor’easters player had a standout week making 25 saves in two games for the Explorers. McCarthy made a career-high 14 saves as La Salle took a 2-1 overtime victory against Rhode Island, and followed up that performance with an 11-save shutout in a 0-0 draw against Massachusetts.
ATLANTIC SUN
Nashville Metros defender Nick Dykes was named the Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Week after the freshman helped East Tennessee State to a pair of victories and a draw last week. Dykes scored the equalizer for the Buccaneers as they rallied for a 2-1 victory against Florida Gulf Coast, snapping the Eagles’ 12-game undefeated streak, and then led ETSU’s defense in a 0-0 draw against Stetson later in the week.
HORIZON LEAGUE
Akron Summit Assault goalkeeper Brad Stuver was named the Horizon League Player of the Week after putting in an outstanding performance to help Cleveland State move to the top of the conference standings with a 2-1 victory against the University of Illinois-Chicago. Stuver made 11 saves, including eight in the first half, as the Vikings extended their undefeated streak to four games.
MISSOURI VALLEY
Creighton’s Ethan Finlay was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week after recording his first hat trick for the Blue Jays in a 3-1 win against No.7 UC-Irvine on Saturday night. Finlay, who played for the Chicago Fire Premier in the PDL, leads the No.6 Blue Jays with nine goals and 23 points this season and remains the top senior prospect for next year’s MLS SuperDraft.
NORTHEAST
Lower Merion Soccer Club U20s standout Zoncher Dennis is having a major impact on the Northeast Conference in his freshman season, winning his fourth NEC Rookie of the Week award after scoring for Mount St. Mary’s in a 3-1 victory against Bryant. A standout at the Super-20 League Finals this summer, Dennis leads the NEC with 10 goals and 21 points this season.
PATRIOT LEAGUE
American University’s Alassane Kane took the Patriot League’s Offensive Player of the Week award after the former Vermont Voltage forward scored the game-winning overtime goal to life the Eagles past Lafayette. American leads the Patriot League by five points with three weeks remaining in the season.
SOUTHERN
Carolina Dynamo goalkeeper Peyton Ford took home the Southern Conference’s Player of the Week award after he recorded a pair of shutouts for UNC-Greensboro last week. Ford has given up just one goal in Southern Conference play this season, while overall posting a goals-against average of 0.79. He helped the Spartans earn a 0-0 draw with Davidson before they took a 4-0 victory against Wofford to move into fourth place in the conference standings.
SUMMIT LEAGUE
Michigan Bucks goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt, this year’s USL PDL Goalkeeper of the Year, earned the Summit League’s Defender of the Week honors after helping Oakland University upset conference leader IPFW 1-0. Hildebrandt is one of the top senior goalkeeping prospects for Major League Soccer, coming in as the No.43 prospect according to TopDrawerSoccer.com, and the No.2 goalkeeper on the list.
WEST COAST
Orange County Blue Star forward Artur Jozkowicz was named the West Coast Conference’s Player of the Week after the Loyola Marymount standout assisted on the game-winning goal in an overtime victory against Santa Clara last Friday before scoring the game-winning goal against San Francisco on Sunday. Jozkowicz played all 187 minutes during the weekend for the Lions, who moved to .500 in conference play with their two victories.