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USL League One Team of the Week - Week 20

By USLLeagueOne.com Staff, 09/17/24, 2:30PM EDT

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Greenville's all-time leading scorer is first to earn four Player of the Week nods in single season

TAMPA, Fla. – USL League One today announced the Team of the Week for Week 20 of the 2024 regular season with Greenville Triumph SC midfielder Lyam MacKinnon named Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball with his three goals and one assist against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.

Across all competitions this season, MacKinnon has accumulated 26 goal contributions - a single-season record for Greenville - and has become the only player in League One history to be named Player of the Week four times in a single season. The 24-year-old Swiss star becomes the first player in League One history to tally multiple matches with four or more goal contributions and joins Evan Conway (Omaha) and Ronaldo Damus (North Texas) as the only players to record multiple hat tricks in league play.

"It was great to get back to winning ways with a brilliant performance from the entire team," MacKinnon said. "I thought we started the game really well and it set us up for the entire game. The guys that came in helped us keep the intensity high throughout the second half."

"Lyam has been working very hard to get back his scoring mojo," said Greenville Head Coach and Technical Director Rick Wright. "Having Leo [Castro] back from injury has made our opponents not focus solely on Lyam which has opened up space for him to operate."

Among the starting XI, the Team of the Week features an average age of just over 23 years due to the presence of four first-year professionals, two teenagers and one USL Academy signing. In total, Greenville and Richmond lead the way with three starters named to the Team of the Week after a pair of respective victories. Northern Colorado, Knoxville, Omaha, Spokane and Chattanooga also place multiple representatives on the Team of the Week and Team of the Week bench.

COACH - Dominic Casciato, Union Omaha: The defending USL League One Coach of the Year helped his Owls bounce back from a midweek semifinal loss to the Hailstorm in the USL Jägermeister Cup Knockouts with a 3-2 victory against Northern Colorado in league play just three days later. Omaha finished the week with the most points won above expected (1.43) and the second-highest goal differential above expected goal differential value (0.65), per American Soccer Analysis.

GK - James Sneddon, Richmond Kickers: In only his second professional start, the 18-year-old USL Academy signing registered his first-career clean sheet and became the second-youngest goalkeeper named to the Team of the Week in league history. The former Richmond United talent helped the Kickers secure an upset victory in Charlotte with nine recoveries and three saves while conceding 0.38 goals below expected and accruing a goals added value of 0.59 - both the most among goalkeepers in Week 20, per American Soccer Analysis. 

D - Griffin Garnett, Richmond Kickers: Another former Richmond United standout that enjoyed a special Week 20, the 18-year-old, first-year professional helped the Richmond backline lock out Charlotte from the back of the net. Garnett - signed to his first full professional deal last month - tallied four duels won, four tackles won, three completed long passes, three recoveries, two clearances, and completed 97% of his 59 passes.

D - Jordan Skelton, One Knoxville SC: The 2023 USL League One All-League First Team defender earned his third Team of the Week nod across the last four weeks, helping Knoxville extend its unbeaten streak to 11 matches across all competitions. Skelton spoiled rival Lexington's homecoming with six clearances, four duels won, three completed long passes, three recoveries and a passing accuracy rate of 93%.

D - Haruki Yamazaki, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC: Just one of Northern Colorado's handful of talented first-year professionals, Yamazaki led the league with five fouls won and a passing score of 6.17, per American Soccer Analysis. The Japanese defender added 10 duels won, seven completed long passes, four tackles won, four recoveries, two chances created, and completed 93% of his passes.

M - Hayden Anderson, Greenville Triumph SC: The 23-year-old Greenville native constructed the first multi-goal-contribution match of his young professional career, providing a goal and an assist in Triumph SC's lopsided victory in Chattanooga. The former University of South Carolina - Upstate and University of Memphis talent added three duels won, three completed crosses, two interceptions, two successful dribbles, and completed 86% of his passes.

M - Collin Fernandez, Spokane Velocity FC: The USL Championship veteran was productive in the middle of the pitch for Spokane, helping the expansion side to a scoreless draw with South Georgia through his league-leading 11 duels won and five tackles won. The former United States and Peru youth international added six accurate long balls, six recoveries, five tackles won, two clearances, two blocks, two fouls won, and completed 88% of his passes.

M - João Gomiero, Richmond Kickers: Gomiero bagged his first goal of the season in match-winning fashion, guiding the Kickers to an upset win in Charlotte against the Independence. Returning to the state in which his professional career began, the Brazilian totaled eight completed long balls, seven duels won, four recoveries, four dribbles completed, three shots on target, two fouls won, and completed 92% of his passes. According to American Soccer Analysis, Gomiero was second in the league with 0.62 goals added and led all players with a dribbling score of 0.47.

M - Lyam MacKinnon, Greenville Triumph SC: Up to a club-record 26 goal contributions across all competitions on the season with a staggering three-goal, one-assist performance against Chattanooga, MacKinnon has now tied Charlotte's Juan Carlos Obregón, Jr. at the top of the USL League One Golden Boot race. In 82 minutes of play, the 24-year-old registered five duels won, four shots on target, three total chances created, two completed crosses, two tackles won, two fouls won, and led all players in goals added (0.82), according to American Soccer Analysis.

M - Noah Powder, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC: The Trinidad and Tobago international registered the eighth multi-goal-contribution match across his club and national team career with a goal and assist against Omaha. Powder also contributed with seven duels won, four recoveries, three total chances created, three completed dribbles, two fouls won and a passing accuracy rate of 85%.

F - Lagos Kunga, Union Omaha: The MLS Cup 2018 champion and former United States youth international tallied a match-winning brace off the bench to propel the Owls past the Hailstorm on Saturday. In addition to constructing the third brace of his career, Kunga contributed with seven duels won, three shots on target, three completed dribbles, two tackles won, two recoveries, two fouls won and an 89% passing accuracy rate in only 51 minutes of action. 

F - Zion Scarlett, Greenville Triumph SC: In the most productive season of his three-year professional career, the 20-year-old Scarlett provided assists on Lyam MacKinnon's first two goals. The former Jamaica youth international also recorded four recoveries, four duels won, two fouls won, and completed 83% of his passes.

BENCH: Brooks Thompson (SPK), Pedro Hernández (CHA), Jackson Dietrich (NCO), Aarón Gómez (OMA), Aaron Walker (TRM), Richard Ballard (KNX), Mayele Malango (CHA)


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