TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 17 of the 2022 regular season on Tuesday, with Atlanta United 2 forward Tristan Trager voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after bagging a pair of goals in each of Atlanta’s outings during the week as the side claimed four points out of six.
Signed on June 1 after being selected by Atlanta United FC in 2022 MLS SuperDraft out of the Air Force Academy, Trager found his feet in the professional ranks at the end of his first month of action. After scoring his first professional goal against Oakland Roots SC on June 25, he broke fully out over the past week. Trager’s goal after 43 seconds against the Charleston Battery last Wednesday night was Atlanta’s fastest this season, and he went on to add another in the fourth minute to pave the way to a 4-3 win at Patriots Point. Then on Saturday, Trager struck in both the 11th and 17th minutes to send his side into a lead against El Paso Locomotive FC before a late equalizer earned El Paso a 2-2 draw.
Trager earned 50 percent of the ballot to claim the award. Orange County SC’s Milan Iloski finished second on 21 percent after scoring three goals in two games to move into the lead in the race for the USL Championship’s Golden Boot with 12 tallies overall this season.
The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 17
GK – Connor Sparrow, Miami FC: Sparrow recorded a five-save shutout to preserve a 1-0 victory for Miami on the road against Indy Eleven while producing a -1.13 Goals minus Expected Goals mark to send his side into the playoff positions in the Eastern Conference.
D – Laurence Wyke, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Wyke helped the Rowdies’ back line contain Memphis 901 FC’s attack in a 2-0 victory at Al Lang Stadium, winning 9 of 12 duels and recording eight recoveries while completing 2 of 2 dribbles and 39 of 50 passes.
D – Owen Lambe, LA Galaxy II: Lambe earned his second consecutive selection as he recorded one assist, had two chances created, completed 53 of 56 passes and 2 of 2 dribbles, and made three clearances in Los Dos’ 3-1 victory against Oakland Roots SC on Friday night.
D – Joshua Wynder, Louisville City FC: The 17-year-old U.S. youth international scored his first professional goal and completed 44 of 50 passes while making seven clearances and six recoveries in LouCity’s 2-1 victory against Birmingham Legion FC.
M – Robbie Mertz, Atlanta United 2: Mertz recorded both assists on Tristan Trager’s goals against El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday night and completed 31 of 32 passes while winning 7 of 10 duels in the 2-2 draw at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
M – Alejandro Guido, San Diego Loyal SC: The San Diego native scored both goals, recorded three shots overall and completed 15 of 20 passes to lead SD Loyal to a 2-1 victory against Orange County SC on Wednesday night.
M – Kenardo Forbes, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Forbes became the first player to reach 50 regular season assists in the USL Championship’s history and played a role in the Hounds’ second goal as well while making five interceptions and seven recoveries in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls II.
M – Andre Lewis, Hartford Athletic: Lewis bagged a goal against former club Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and had three shots and two chances created overall while completing 37 of 46 passes in a 2-0 victory for Hartford at Trinity Health Stadium.
F – Tristan Trager, Atlanta United 2: The 22-year-old recorded four goals across two games, scoring twice against both the Charleston Battery and El Paso Locomotive FC as Atlanta picked up four points across the week’s action.
F – Jake LaCava, Tampa Bay Rowdies: The 21-year-old scored both goals as the Rowdies earned a 2-0 victory against Memphis 901 FC on his two shots for the game to remain in the hunt for the Eastern Conference lead.
F – Milan Iloski, Orange County SC: Iloski scored three goals across two games to move into the lead in the USL Championship’s Golden Boot race and had four shots and two chances created while completing 3 of 6 dribbles over the two outings.
Bench: Javier Garcia (RGV), Fabien Garcia (SA), Josh Drack (LA), Daniel Pedersen (OC), Hadji Barry (COS), Russell Cicerone (PIT), Cameron Dunbar (LA)
