One week is in the books in the USL Championship and League One season, and some of the league’s top U-22 players have already grabbed the spotlight.

Here are the players you need to know that impressed us over the opening weekend of the season.

Abdellatif Aboukoura, Loudoun United FC – The 20-year-old had a standout first performance of the campaign, notching a goal and assist in United’s 3-1 victory on the road against Birmingham Legion FC.

Aboukoura joined the pro ranks last summer having previously competed for Loudoun as a USL Academy signing. He’s looking to build on a career year in which he notched five goals and one assist. He put up three shots on target and three chances created in addition to his goal contributions in Birmingham.

Pedro Guimaraes, Orange County SC – Fresh off helping the United States U-17 Men’s National Team qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in November, Guimaraes put in a stellar display in Orange County’s 4-2 victory against Oakland Roots SC at Championship Soccer Stadium.

The 16-year-old completed 32 of 36 passes and won 2 of 3 duels, but it was his off-ball work and movement that stood out most. Check out John Morrissey’s breakdown of how he and Ryan Doghman were able to combine on the left side for OCSC.

Blake Willey, Sacramento Republic FC – One of Republic FC’s rising stars got the start in its season opener, and it might not have been the one you expected. 17-year-old Blake Willey became the second-youngest player to start a season-opener in club history as part of Sacramento’s front three and showed his tenaciousness in the press, winning 3 of 4 tackles and winning possession a team-high three times in the attacking third.

“One thing that comes to mind straight away is that Blake Willey is definitely ready to play based on the performance that he put in,” said Republic FC Head Coach Neill Collins assessing the team’s performance. “I mean, he's been excellent in preseason, and then he deservedly started tonight, and he showed why.”

Kieran Sargeant, Lexington SC – The 21-year-old arrived on loan from Houston Dynamo FC with a good two-way reputation and lived up to the billing in his USL Championship debut for Lexington. Sargeant led his side with three chances created and completed 28 of 30 passes overall and also won 2 of 2 tackles and 6 of 7 ground duels, drawing praise from Head Coach Terry Boss.

“Kieran plays one of the most demanding roles,” said Boss. “We asked him to defend as a fullback, and we asked him to attack as a winger. It's not an easy position, and he has more than exceeded our expectations coming in. We knew that he was a really good attacking player coming in. We really challenged him to say, ‘you ‘ve got to be a shutdown defender as well.’ And he's answered that, bell and spades.”

Owen Damm, FC Tulsa – The 21-year-old put in a strong display on the left side of midfield as Tulsa took a 1-0 victory on the road at Phoenix Rising FC to open the season. Damm recorded two chances created and one big chance created in the final third and was solid defensively, winning 3 of 3 tackles and 5 of 10 ground duels while recording two interceptions and four recoveries.

Griffin Garnett, Richmond Kickers – The 18-year-old center back picked up where he left off after being nominated for the League One Young Player of the Year award last season, putting in a strong display as the Kickers took victory on the road at South Georgia Tormenta FC to open the season. Garnett won 2 of 3 tackles and 3 of 4 ground duels while making four clearances and one interception defensively and completed 25 of 29 passes overall.

Jason Smith, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC – The 21-year-old made a solid professional debut for the Red Wolves as the side earned a 1-1 draw on the road against FC Naples. Smith was unable to keep out a penalty kick late on, but his three-save performance included key stops that saw him register a -0.6 Goals Prevented mark as Naples produced 1.6 Post-Shot Expected Goals during the contest.