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Young and old talents shine in crucial fixtures | News & Notes - Week 23

By ETHAN TRIEBSCH - ethan.triebsch@uslsoccer.com, 10/11/24, 12:45PM EDT

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These players stepped up as postseason nears

The busiest regular season month of the season is in full swing as the season nears its conclusion. With all 12 sides still alive for the postseason, each will hope to take advantage of their three remaining matches.

Ahead of Week 23, find News & Notes, the Discipline Report and current player, team and league records below.


NEWS & NOTES

Sneddon salvaging the Kickers' season?

The Richmond Kickers' 18-year-old USL Academy goalkeeper has been balling out for the Roos to kick off his professional career. After making his professional debut in Round 8 of the 2024 USL Jägmermeister Cup - a 3-2 victory against Spokane - Sneddon has seemingly beaten out legendary League One goalkeeper Pablo Jara for the starting spot.

Sneddon is now a clean sheet away from setting a League One record with a fourth consecutive clean sheet in what would be only his fourth start in regular season play. Sneddon's stellar start has helped the Kickers jump back above the playoff line with only three matches remaining.

Only goalkeepers with three clean sheets in first three League One regular season starts:

  • James Sneddon (RIC) - 2024
    • vs. CLT, LEX, OMA
  • Lalo Delgado (NCO) - 2023
    • vs. CHA, TRM, RIC
  • Carlos Avilez (NTX) - 2019
    • vs. MAD, ORL, GVL

Back on the scoresheet

Week 22 was highlighted by several experienced veterans getting back on the scoresheet in crucial moments for their clubs. Highlighted below are just a handful of the most impactful goals from Week 22 and why they stood out for each goalscorer.

  1. Mechack Jérôme (OMA) vs. Spokane
    • The 34-year-old USL mainstay became the sixth-oldest player to score a League One goal on Wednesday. The Haiti international's last goal for club or country came nearly eight years ago in a CFU Caribbean Cup qualifier in November 2016 as Les Grenadiers faced off against French Guiana.
  2. Sebastián Velásquez (GVL) vs. Lexington
    • The 33-year-old USL and MLS veteran scored the second goal since signing with his hometown club over the offseason. The goal came at Clemson University, where the Upstate native aspired to play before eventually playing collegiately at Spartanburg Methodist College.
  3. Juan Galindrez (MAD) vs. Knoxville and Charlotte
    • Galindrez scored once against Knoxville and once against Charlotte to confirm four points and a postseason berth for the 'Mingos. With 29 regular season goals in his career, Galindrez is now tied for the third-most goals in League One history.
  4. Dani Fernández (KNX) vs. Chattanooga
    • One of just a few players remaining from One Knoxville SC's inaugural USL League Two roster in 2022, Fernández made history on Saturday with a goal to send One Knox to the playoffs for the first time as a professional club. The Spaniard's goal was the fourth of his professional career and seventh with Knoxville.
  5. Ropapa Mensah (CHA) vs. Knoxville
    • Mensah bagged the 50th goal of his professional career on Saturday and secured back-to-back double-digit scoring seasons for the first time in his career. The Ghanaian is two goals shy of matching Juan Galindrez's club record of 24 goals scored across all competitions for the Red Wolves.
  6. Fabrice Ngah (CLT) vs. Madison
    • The former Cameroon international scored a stunning free kick against Madison to record the fifth goal of his professional career spanning 145 matches played in Africa and North America.
  7. Juan Carlos Obregón, Jr. (CLT) vs. Madison
    • The Honduras international reclaimed the USL League One Golden Boot lead with his 13th league goal on Friday. Obregón, Jr.'s 18 goals across all competitions on the season is nearly double his previous career-high of 10 goals in 2021 with Hartford Athletic.
  8. Michael Chilaka (MAD) vs. Charlotte
    • The former Israel youth international scored the second goal of his professional career and first for Madison since signing with the 'Mingos in the offseason. The first Israeli player to score in League One, Chilaka's goal was the 24-year-old's first since scoring for Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam FC in the Israel State Cup in May 2021.

TO THE FINISH LINE

While the Race the the Playoffs is heating up, the Golden Boot, Golden Glove and Golden Playmaker races are also coming down to the wire - especially with fewer regular season matches this season due to USL Jägermeister Cup play.

2024 USL League One Golden Boot, presented by Charly leaders:

  1. Juan Carlos Obregón, Jr. (CLT) - 13
  2. Lyam MacKinnon (GVL) - 12
  3. Kempes Tekiela (KNX) - 9
  4. Pedro Dolabella (OMA) - 8
  5. Ropapa Mensah (CHA) - 8

2024 USL League One Golden Glove, presented by SELECT leaders:

  1. Sean Lewis (KNX) - 0.73
  2. Bernd Schipmann (MAD) - 0.84
  3. Lalo Delgado (NCO) - 0.89
  4. Rashid Nuhu (OMA) - 1.05
  5. Ford Parker (TRM) - 1.44

2024 USL League One Golden Playmaker leaders:

  1. Alfredo Midence (CV) - 7
  2. Gabriel Obertan (CLT) - 5
  3. Derek Gebhard (MAD) - 5
  4. Luis Gil (SPK) - 5
  5. Lyam MacKinnon (GVL) - 5

Discipline Report – Week 23

The following is USL League One's discipline report for Week 23 of the 2024 regular season.

The Charlotte Independence's Luis Álvarez has been suspended for one match due to caution accumulation following his yellow card against Forward Madison FC on Oct. 4 in regular season play. Álvarez will be unavailable for selection in Charlotte's regular season contest against Lexington SC on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Union Omaha's Aarón Gómez has been suspended for one match following his red card for two cautionable offenses against the Richmond Kickers on Oct. 5 in regular season play. Gómez will be unavailable for selection in Omaha's regular season contest against Lexington SC on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Lexington SC Head of High Performance Nigel McCarthy has been suspended for one match following his red card for abusive language against Greenville on Oct. 5 in regular season play. McCarthy will be unavailable for Lexington's regular season contest against Omaha on Saturday, Oct. 12.

The following players and coaches enter the upcoming matches one caution away from their eighth yellow card of the season and a one-game suspension for caution accumulation.

Here is the breakdown per club:

  • Union Omaha (2): Pedro Dolabella, Aarón Gómez
  • Richmond Kickers (2): Chandler O'Dwyer, James Vaughn
  • Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (1): Leo Folla
  • One Knoxville SC (1): Sivert Haugli
  • Lexington SC (1): Modesto Mendez
  • Forward Madison FC (1): Christian Chaney
  • South Georgia Tormenta FC (1): Tavio D'Almeida

League Records - Player

Across USL League One regular season play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Evan Lee (GVL) – 144
  2. Conor Doyle (OMA/CHA/TRM) – 142
  3. Brandon Fricke (GVL/LAN) – 138
  4. Nil Vinyals (RIC/TRM) - 134
  5. Tyler Polak (GVL) – 133
  6. Jake Keegan (GVL/KNX/NCO/MAD) – 132
  7. Aaron Walker (GVL/TRM) – 127
  8. Akira Fitzgerald (RIC) – 121*
  9. Pablo Jara (TRM/RIC) – 119
  10. Ualefi (CHA) – 117

Minutes played:

  1. Evan Lee (GVL) – 12,241
  2. Brandon Fricke (GVL/LAN) – 11,675
  3. Conor Doyle (OMA/CHA/TRM) – 11,456
  4. Tyler Polak (GVL) – 11,300
  5. Akira Fitzgerald (RIC) – 10,832*
  6. Pablo Jara (TRM/RIC) – 10,637
  7. Nil Vinyals (RIC/TRM) – 10,503
  8. Aaron Walker (GVL/TRM) – 10,422
  9. Rashid Nuhu (OMA) – 9,636
  10. Jake Keegan (GVL/KNX/NCO/MAD) – 9,616

Matches won:

  1. Evan Lee (GVL) – 67
  2. Brandon Fricke (GVL/LAN) – 64
  3. Tyler Polak (GVL) – 62
  4. Conor Doyle (OMA/CHA/TRM) – 59
  5. Rashid Nuhu (OMA) – 55
  6. Aaron Walker (GVL/TRM) – 55
  7. Jake Keegan (GVL/KNX/NCO/MAD) – 54
  8. J.P. Scearce (OMA) – 48*
  9. Marky Hernández (NCO/CHA) – 48
  10. Rafa Mentzingen (NC/CHA/LAN) - 46*
  11. Jacob Crull (MAD/OMA/TUC) - 46

Goals:

  1. Emiliano Terzaghi (RIC) – 57
  2. Garrett McLaughlin (NC/TOR/MAD) – 31
  3. Oalex Anderson (NC/RIC) – 29*
  4. Jake Keegan (GVL/KNX/NCO/MAD) – 29
  5. Juan Galindrez (CHA/MAD) – 29
  6. Trevor Amann (NCO) – 28*
  7. Kazaiah Sterling (TRM) – 26*
  8. Rafa Mentzingen (NC/CHA/LAN) – 26*
  9. Christian Chaney (MAD/CV) – 25
  10. Greg Hurst (OMA) – 23*

Assists:

  1. Arthur Rogers (NCO) – 20*
  2. Conor Doyle (OMA/CHA/TRM) – 19
  3. Charlie Dennis (TUC) – 17*
  4. Nil Vinyals (RIC/TRM) – 17
  5. Rafa Mentzingen (NC/CHA/LAN) – 16*
  6. Derek Waldeck (NTX/KNX/SPK/GVL) – 15
  7. Allen Gavilanes (GVL) – 15*
  8. Miguel Ibarra (CLT) – 14
  9. Luis Gil (OMA/SPK) – 14
  10. Marky Hernández (NCO/CHA) – 14

Goal contributions:

  1. Emiliano Terzaghi (RIC) – 61
  2. Garrett McLaughlin (NC/TOR/MAD) – 42
  3. Oalex Anderson (NC/RIC) – 42*
  4. Rafa Mentzingen (NC/CHA/LAN) – 42*
  5. Jake Keegan (GVL/KNX/NCO/MAD) – 41
  6. Nil Vinyals (RIC/TRM) – 36
  7. Trevor Amann (NCO) – 35*
  8. Marky Hernández (NCO/CHA) – 35
  9. Kazaiah Sterling (TRM) – 34*
  10. Juan Galindrez (CHA/MAD) - 33
  11. Christian Chaney (MAD/CV) – 33

Clean sheets:

  1. Rashid Nuhu (OMA) – 39
  2. Akira Fitzgerald (RIC) – 31*
  3. Dallas Jaye (GVL) – 27*
  4. Pablo Jara (TRM/RIC) – 26
  5. Bernd Schipmann (MAD) – 20
  6. Lalo Delgado (NCO) – 20
  7. Carlos Avilez (CHA/NTX/CV/TRM) – 19
  8. Paul Christensen (GVL) – 17*
  9. Sean Lewis (KNX) – 15
  10. Austin Pack (CLT) – 14

Saves:

  1. Akira Fitzgerald (RIC) – 362*
  2. Pablo Jara (TRM/RIC) – 312
  3. Rashid Nuhu (OMA) – 253
  4. Carlos Avilez (CHA/NTX/CV/TRM) – 245
  5. Austin Pack (CLT) – 195
  6. Amal Knight (LEX/TUC) – 169
  7. Carlos Merancio (TUC/SPK) – 163
  8. T.J. Bush (TRM/CHA) – 151
  9. Sean Lewis (KNX) - 137
  10. Lalo Delgado (NCO) - 122
  11. Dallas Jaye (GVL) - 122*

* - indicates former player


League Records - Club

Across USL League One regular season play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches won:

  1. Greenville – 69
  2. Omaha – 63
  3. Richmond – 53
  4. Chattanooga – 52
  5. Madison – 52
  6. South Georgia – 50
  7. Northern Colorado – 38
  8. North Carolina – 34*
  9. North Texas – 34*
  10. Tucson - 33*
  11. Charlotte - 33

Clean sheets:

  1. Greenville – 58
  2. Madison – 44
  3. Richmond – 39
  4. Omaha – 39
  5. South Georgia – 37
  6. Northern Colorado – 25
  7. Chattanooga – 24
  8. North Texas – 23*
  9. Charlotte – 21
  10. North Carolina – 21*

Home wins:

  1. Greenville – 38
  2. Chattanooga – 34
  3. Omaha – 34
  4. Richmond – 32
  5. Madison – 32
  6. South Georgia – 24
  7. Northern Colorado – 23
  8. Charlotte – 22
  9. North Texas – 20*
  10. Tucson - 18*
  11. North Carolina – 18*

Away wins:

  1. Greenville – 31
  2. Omaha – 29
  3. South Georgia – 26
  4. Richmond – 21
  5. Madison – 20
  6. Chattanooga – 18
  7. North Carolina – 16*
  8. Northern Colorado – 15
  9. Tucson – 15*
  10. North Texas – 14*

Goals:

  1. Chattanooga – 217
  2. South Georgia – 212
  3. Greenville – 208
  4. Richmond – 200
  5. Omaha – 198
  6. Madison – 190
  7. Tucson – 134*
  8. Charlotte - 131
  9. Northern Colorado – 131
  10. North Carolina – 123*

Win percentage:

  1. Omaha – 0.50
  2. North Texas – 0.47*
  3. Northern Colorado – 0.47
  4. Greenville – 0.45
  5. Lansing – 0.43*
  6. Charlotte – 0.41
  7. North Carolina – 0.38*
  8. Spokane – 0.37
  9. New England – 0.36*
  10. Richmond - 0.35

* - indicates former club


Central Valley Fuego FC
Central Valley Fuego FC

Across USL League One, USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Zahir Vazquez – 63
  2. Victor Falck – 61*
  3. Jordan Chavez – 57*
  4. Mouhamed Dabo – 57
  5. Ozzie Ramos – 55*

Goals:

  1. Christian Chaney – 11*
  2. Alexis Cerritos – 10*
  3. Villyan Bijev – 9*
  4. Victor Falck – 8*
  5. Zahir Vazquez – 8

Assists:

  1. Alfredo Midence – 8
  2. Alexis Cerritos – 7*
  3. Omar Lemus – 6
  4. Victor Falck – 6*
  5. Villyan Bijev – 6*

* - indicates former player

Charlotte Independence
Charlotte Independence

Across USL Championship, USL Championship Playoffs, USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup, USL Jägermeister Cup Knockouts and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Joel Johnson – 216
  2. Enzo Martínez – 161*
  3. Jorge Herrera – 147*
  4. Clay Dimick – 127
  5. Alex Martínez – 119*

Goals:

  1. Enzo Martínez – 47*
  2. Jorge Herrera – 45*
  3. Dane Kelly – 30*
  4. Tresor Mbuyu – 21
  5. Khori Bennett - 18*
  6. Juan Carlos Obregon, Jr. - 18

Assists:

  1. Enzo Martínez – 29*
  2. Joel Johnson – 24
  3. Jorge Herrera – 18*
  4. Alex Martínez – 17*
  5. Gabriel Obertan - 17

* - indicates former player

Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC

Across USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Ualefi – 131
  2. José Carrera-García – 62*
  3. Jimmie Villalobos – 60*
  4. Ricky Ruiz – 60*
  5. Pedro Hernandez – 61

Goals:

  1. Juan Galindrez – 24*
  2. Ropapa Mensah – 22
  3. Chevone Marsh – 20
  4. Mayele Malango – 11
  5. Steven Beattie – 11*

Assists:

  1. Ricky Ruiz – 13*
  2. José Carrera-García – 10*
  3. Moe Espinoza – 10*
  4. Ryley Kraft – 7*
  5. Marky Hernández – 7*
  6. Vangjel Zguro – 7*
  7. Jonathan Filipe – 7

* - indicates former player

Greenville Triumph SC
Greenville Triumph SC

Across USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Evan Lee – 166
  2. Tyler Polak – 153
  3. Aaron Walker – 131*
  4. Brandon Fricke – 124
  5. Allen Gavilanes - 92*

Goals:

  1. Lyam MacKinnon – 26
  2. Leo Castro – 21
  3. Jake Keegan – 18*
  4. Jacob Labovitz – 18*
  5. Aaron Walker – 15*
  6. Marios Lomis – 15*

Assists:

  1. Allen Gavilanes – 18*
  2. Lyam MacKinnon – 13
  3. Aaron Walker – 10*
  4. Evan Lee – 9
  5. Alex Morrell – 8*

* - indicates former player

One Knoxville SC
One Knoxville SC

Across USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL League Two, USL League Two Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Callum Johnson – 58
  2. Dani Fernández – 54
  3. Jordan Skelton – 54
  4. Angelo Kelly-Rosales – 53
  5. James Thomas – 51
  6. Jalen Crisler - 51

Goals:

  1. Kempes Tekiela – 12
  2. Stephen Afrifa – 10*
  3. Frank Ross – 9
  4. Sebastian Andreassen - 8*
  5. Dani Fernández – 7

Assists:

  1. Derek Waldeck – 6
  2. Callum Johnson – 5
  3. Angelo Kelly-Rosales – 4
  4. Stuart Ritchie – 4
  5. James Thomas – 4

* - indicates former player

Lexington SC
Lexington SC

Across USL League One, USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Nico Brown – 60
  2. Ates Diouf – 57
  3. Tate Robertson – 57
  4. Kaleon Fox – 54
  5. Amal Knight – 50

Goals:

  1. Ates Diouf – 23
  2. Nico Brown – 12
  3. Cameron Lancaster – 12
  4. Don Smart – 6*
  5. Khalid Balogun – 5

Assists:

  1. Tate Robertson – 9
  2. Nico Brown – 8
  3. Ates Diouf – 7
  4. Khalid Balogun – 5
  5. Charlie Machell – 3*
  6. Christian Lue Young – 3
  7. Terique Mohammed – 3*
  8. Yannick Yankam – 3

* - indicates former player

Forward Madison FC
Forward Madison FC

Across USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup, USL Jägermeister Cup Knockouts and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Derek Gebhard – 115
  2. Eric Leonard – 98*
  3. Mitch Osmond – 83
  4. Connor Tobin – 72*
  5. Nazeem Bartman - 70

Goals:

  1. Christian Chaney – 22
  2. Derek Gebhard – 17
  3. Nazeem Bartman – 10
  4. Don Smart – 10*
  5. Paulo Júnior - 8*

Assists:

  1. Derek Gebhard – 13
  2. Paulo Júnior – 11*
  3. Don Smart – 8*
  4. Jayden Onen – 7*
  5. Stephen Payne - 6

* - indicates former player

Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC

Across USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup, USL Jägermeister Cup Knockouts and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Marky Hernández – 85
  2. Brecc Evans – 81
  3. Arthur Rogers – 69*
  4. Danny Robles – 69
  5. Jackson Dietrich - 65
  6. Lucky Opara - 65

Goals:

  1. Trevor Amann – 32*
  2. Bruno Rendón – 19
  3. Marky Hernández – 16
  4. Ethan Hoard - 14
  5. Billy King – 13
  6. Irvin Parra – 13

Assists:

  1. Arthur Rogers – 20*
  2. Lucky Opara – 11
  3. Billy King – 11
  4. Marky Hernández – 10
  5. Ethan Hoard - 9

* - indicates former player

Union Omaha
Union Omaha

Across USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup, USL Jägermeister Cup Knockouts and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Rashid Nuhu – 126
  2. J.P. Scearce – 109*
  3. Conor Doyle – 96*
  4. Dion Acoff – 80
  5. Daltyn Knutson – 70*

Goals:

  1. Steevan Dos Santos – 25
  2. Noe Meza – 23*
  3. Evan Conway – 19*
  4. Pedro Dolabella – 19
  5. J.P. Scearce – 17*

Assists:

  1. Conor Doyle – 16*
  2. Devin Boyce – 11*
  3. Pedro Dolabella – 10
  4. Joe Gallardo – 9
  5. Luis Gil – 9*

* - indicates former player

Richmond Kickers
Richmond Kickers

Across USL Championship, USL Championship Playoffs, USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup play since 2011. Accurate as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Yomby William – 194*
  2. Sascha Görres – 142*
  3. Matthew Delicâte – 137*
  4. Braeden Troyer – 136*
  5. Akira Fitzgerald - 127*

Goals:

  1. Emiliano Terzaghi – 58
  2. Matthew Delicâte – 46*
  3. Jason Yeisley – 23*
  4. George Davis IV – 20*
  5. Nil Vinyals - 19

Assists:

  1. Sascha Görres – 20*
  2. Nil Vinyals – 16
  3. Matt Bolduc – 13*
  4. Jonathan Bolanos – 13*
  5. Fred Sekyere – 10*
  6. Stanley Nyazamba – 10*
  7. Brian Ownby – 10*

* - indicates former player

South Georgia Tormenta FC
South Georgia Tormenta FC

Across USL League One, USL League One Playoffs, USL League Two, USL League Two Playoffs, USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Pablo Jara – 135*
  2. Josh Phelps – 119*
  3. Marco Micaletto – 85*
  4. Jad Arslan – 79*
  5. Jake Dengler – 79

Goals:

  1. Kazaiah Sterling – 31*
  2. Marco Micaletto – 26*
  3. Pedro Fonseca – 14
  4. Sebastián Vivas - 12
  5. Mukwelle Akale – 12*
  6. Jad Arslan – 12*

Assists:

  1. Pedro Fonseca – 11
  2. Mukwelle Akale – 10*
  3. Marco Micaletto – 10*
  4. Kazaiah Sterling – 9*
  5. Jackson Khoury – 8
  6. Azaad Liadi – 8*
  7. Conner Antley – 8*

* - indicates former player

Spokane Velocity FC
Spokane Velocity FC

Across USL League One, USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup play as of Thursday, Oct. 10.

Matches played:

  1. Derek Waldeck – 30
  2. Josh Dolling – 30
  3. Andre Lewis – 29
  4. Marcelo Lage – 28
  5. Kimarni Smith – 28

Goals:

  1. Luis Gil – 10
  2. Andre Lewis – 7
  3. Josh Dolling – 4
  4. Ahmed Longmire – 3
  5. Javier Martín Gil – 2
  6. Camron Miller – 2
  7. Masango Akale – 2
  8. Azriel González – 2
  9. Romain Métanire – 2

Assists:

  1. Luis Gil – 5
  2. Josh Dolling – 4
  3. Andre Lewis – 4
  4. Derek Waldeck – 3
  5. Masango Akale – 3

* - indicates former player


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