ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 9, 2019) — A pair of Tampa Bay Rowdies found their way onto the USL Championship Team of the Week for their stellar performances in Saturday night’s 4-0 win over Hartford Athletic.
Fernandes had a pair of assists and would have had a third if not for a slight deflection from a defender. Guenzatti scored his team-high third and fourth goals of the season.
David Najem eanred an honorable mention on the Team of the Week bench after scoring his first goal in Rowdies colors.
The full Team of the Week is below:
GK – Alex Tambakis, North Carolina FC: Tambakis recorded four saves to keep his side in the game when down to 10 men as NCFC rallied for a 1-1 draw against Memphis 901 FC.
D – Sam Fink, Saint Louis FC: Fink scored one of STLFC’s two goals, blocked two shots, made six clearances and won 3 of 4 duels to help lead his side to victory on the road against Atlanta.
D – Ben Ofeimu, Bethlehem Steel FC: Ofeimu had a goal and assist, won 5 of 7 duels and made three interceptions and six recoveries in Steel FC’s comeback victory against Swope Park.
D – Leland Archer, Charleston Battery: Archer recorded nine clearances, won 7 of 8 duels and made six recoveries and two interceptions as the Battery shut out Charlotte in their Southern Derby victory.
M – Leo Fernandes, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Fernandes recorded two assists in a strong two-way performance that also saw him win 6 of 8 duels and claim seven recoveries.
M – Darwin Jones, Orange County SC: Jones notched both goals and completed 17 of 21 passes as Orange County took its first victory of the 2019 season with a 2-0 win against Colorado Springs.
M – Kai Koreniuk, LA Galaxy II: Koreniuk had two goals and one assist as Los Dos took their second consecutive victory with a 4-2 win against Tulsa Roughnecks FC.
M – Jaime Villarreal, Sacramento Republic FC: Villarreal had the initial shot that led to Republic FC’s game-winning goal against Austin on Saturday and recorded three key passes and completed 58 of 70 passes overall.
F – Daniel Rios, Nashville SC: Rios struck twice, won 10 of 17 duels and completed 16 of 23 passes to help power NSC to a convincing 3-0 victory on the road against Ottawa Fury FC.
F – Sebastian Guenzatti, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Guenzatti had a pair of goals as the Rowdies continued their undefeated start with a convincing 4-0 victory against Hartford Athletic.
F – Douglas Martinez, Real Monarchs SLC: Martinez laid on a pair of assists and won 7 of 13 duels in leading the Monarchs’ front line in their 3-1 victory against Reno 1868 FC.
Bench: Jake Fenlason (STL), Joe Greenspan (PIT), Brian Gomez (SA), Luca Lobo (TUL), David Najem (TBR), Ethan Zubak (LA), Jerome Ngom Mbekeli (SPR)
