After an outstanding effort in Week 11, Midfielder Dylan Mares highlights the USL Championship’s Team of the Week for Week 11 by being selected as Player of the Week. Mares is only the second Locomotive player to earn the Player of the Week accolade after Aaron Gomez in Week 27 in 2019.
During Locomotive’s late-game rally to attempt taking a point from Rio Grande Valley FC on Wednesday, Mares provided the assist to the opening goal with his rocketed freekick that Aguinaga expertly deflected into goal. Saturday saw Mares make the biggest impact with his first two goals of the season to rally Los Locos into a 2-1 win over New Mexico United in front of a sellout crowd.
Over the course of the two games, Mares completed 65 of 79 passes, finding the assist and two goals that personify the resilient character of El Paso Locomotive to secure 50 percent of the vote for Player of the 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.
The full USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 11 is listed below:
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 11
GK – Austin Guerrero, San Diego Loyal SC: Austin Guerrero recorded the first shutout of the season for SD Loyal with a strong performance that saw him make two key saves, one punch and two high claims as San Diego defeated Oakland 1-0 on June 29.
D – Tate Schmitt, Phoenix Rising FC: Tate Schmitt had one goal, one assist and three key passes going forward while also recording eight recoveries, five clearances and four interceptions defensively in Rising FC’s 3-0 win against the LA Galaxy II.
D – Juan Castillo, New York Red Bulls II: Juan Castillo had a strong two-way performance in the Red Bulls II’s 1-1 draw with Miami FC, recording one assist, three key passes and three shots while winning 9 of 16 duels and winning 3 of 4 tackles.
D – Brent Richards, Orange County SC: Brent Richards helped Orange County shut out Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in a 2-0 victory on Thursday night as he won 11 of 16 duels and 5 of 5 tackles, recorded three clearances, and also picked up an assist.
M – Ted Ku-DiPietro, Loudoun United FC: Ted Ku-DiPietro had a standout performance as Loudoun defeated Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC last Wednesday night, scoring a long-range finish while completing 56 of 65 passes, completing 6 of 7 dribbles and winning 13 of 17 duels.
M – Alessane Ates Diouf, Austin Bold FC: Alessane Ates Diouf recorded the only goal and had two shots and two key passes while completing 26 of 31 passes and winning 10 of 16 duels as Austin won for the first time on the road against San Antonio FC on Saturday night.
M – Brian Ownby, Louisville City FC: Brian Ownby recorded one goal and one assist, had two key passes and two shots overall and won 3 of 3 duels while completing 23 of 28 passes in LouCity’s 4-2 victory against Sporting Kansas City II on Friday night.
M – Rodrigo Lopez, Rio Grande Valley FC: Rodrigo Lopez recorded a goal and assist, had five shots and three key passes and completed 26 of 30 passes overall as RGVFC took a 3-2 victory against El Paso Locomotive FC on Wednesday night.
F – Kyle Greig, Louisville City FC: Kyle Greig recorded a pair of goals to reach 60 regular-season goals for his career on Friday night in LouCity’s 4-2 victory against Sporting Kansas City II while also completing 13 of 18 passes.
F – Dylan Mares, El Paso Locomotive FC: Dylan Mares recorded two goals and one assist across two games, with his pair of goals leading Locomotive FC to a 2-1 comeback victory against New Mexico United on Saturday night at Southwest University Park.
F – Solomon Asante, Phoenix Rising FC: Solomon Asante recorded a goal and assist to help lead Phoenix to a 3-0 victory against the LA Galaxy II on Saturday night, had five shots overall and completed 19 of 23 passes in another fine display at Wild Horse Pass.
Bench: Jeff Caldwell (HFD), Sebastian Anderson (COS), Mohamed Traore (LV), Eric Calvillo (OC), Jonathan Gomez (LOU), Kyle Murphy (MEM), Neco Brett (BHM)