TAMPA, Fla. – For a second consecutive week, Birmingham Legion FC defender AJ Paterson was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week, with the league announcing on Tuesday that both he and forward Tyler Pasher landed on the team for Week 13.
It marks Pasher’s debut to Team of the Week this season, following a standout performance in Legion FC’s 3-1 victory over El Paso Locomotive FC where he grabbed a goal and led the team with four successful dribbles, 18 passes in the final third and four crosses in 84 minutes of play. Paterson went the full 90 and provided the assist for Prosper Kasim’s go-ahead goal in the third minute of first half stoppage time, while also winning a pair of tackles, to go along with a team-high three interceptions and 64 total touches.
Week 13 marks the sixth week in which Birmingham has had Team of the Week representation, with Matt Van Oekel picking up honors in Week 1, Kobe Hernandez-Foster in Week 6, Enzo Martinez in Weeks 9 and 10, and Paterson’s first selection in Week 12.
Monterey Bay F.C. goalkeeper Antony Siaha voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after recording 13 saves across a pair of shutouts against the Charleston Battery and New Mexico United as his side earned a four-point week.
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 13
GK – Antony Siaha, Monterey Bay F.C.: The Cameroonian goalkeeper posted 13 saves across two shutouts against the Charleston Battery and New Mexico United, including a penalty save against New Mexico, to record a Goals Prevented mark for the week of -3.55.
D – Ben Ofeimu, Indy Eleven: The 23-year-old posted 14 clearances and two goal line clearances among his five blocked shots while also winning 4 of 6 duels in Indy’s 2-1 victory on the road against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
D – Delentz Pierre, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: The 23-year-old scored an outstanding long-range strike that proved to be the game-winner against Oakland Roots SC and then helped the Switchbacks preserve a shutout, winning 3 of 4 ground duels and making eight clearances at Weidner Field.
D – AJ Paterson, Birmingham Legion FC: The Grenada international recorded one assist and had two big chances created while completing 30 of 37 passes overall in Legion’s 3-1 victory at El Paso Locomotive FC while recording three interceptions and two clearances defensively.
D – Triston Hodge, Hartford Athletic: The Trinidad and Tobago international notched one assist and three chances created in Hartford’s 1-1 draw with Rhode Island FC and won 8 of 9 ground duels while making three clearances and six recoveries defensively.
M – Florian Valot, Loudoun United FC: The French midfielder recorded a goal and an assist as United took its third consecutive victory with a 3-0 win against FC Tulsa while also completing 41 of 51 passes and winning 2 of 2 tackles.
M – Jake Morris, Louisville City FC: The 25-year-old scored once and had three shots and three chances created in LouCity’s 5-1 victory against Detroit City FC while completing 49 of 66 passes and playing 180 minutes across LouCity’s two wins on the week.
M – Kyle Scott, Orange County SC: Scott scored his first goal for OCSC and completed 50 of 55 passes while winning 6 of 11 duels in the side’s 3-2 victory against Detroit City FC on Saturday night.
F – Tyler Pasher, Birmingham Legion FC: The Canadian scored once and had five shots overall while recording two key passes in Legion’s 3-1 victory against El Paso Locomotive FC and won 7 of 13 duels while completing 24 of 33 passes overall.
F – Wilson Harris, Louisville City FC: The 24-year-old recorded a pair of goals in LouCity’s 5-1 victory against Detroit City FC on Wednesday night and had three shots on target while completing 11 of 14 passes and winning 4 of 6 ground duels.
F – Charlie Dennis, Tampa Bay Rowdies: The English attacking midfielder scored the only goal as the Rowdies handed Sacramento Republic FC its first defeat across all competitions and had four chances created overall while completing 15 of 17 passes and winning 11 of 20 duels.
Coach – Robbie Neilson, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Neilson’s side put in a dominant display in handing Sacramento Republic FC its first loss of the season in all competitions as the Rowdies outshot Sacramento 20-6 and had 10 shots on target while only allowing 18.5 percent of the play to occur in Tampa Bay’s defensive third.
Bench: Rocco Ríos Novo (PHX), Robby Dambrot (LDN), Shawn Smart (LV), Elijah Wynder (LOU), Aaron Molloy (CHS), Thomas Amang (OC), Mark Doyle (RI)
