ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 34 on Tuesday, with Tampa Bay Rowdies Midfielder Lewis Hilton earning a spot for his performance in the club’s 2-0 win over Sporting JAX to close out the regular season.
Rowdies Defender Brian Schaefer also earned recognition with a spot on the Team of the Week Bench after helping the Rowdies secure their league-best 16th shutout of the regular season. Tampa Bay’s 16 clean sheets established a new club record for most shutouts in a single season.
Hilton recorded assists on both Rowdies goals against Jacksonville. The Englishman helped teammate Karsen Henderlong deliver the first blow against the Rowdies in-state rivals in the 29th minute with a well-weighted pass into the box. Henderlong controlled the service before turning toward goal and firing shot that clipped the far post before hitting the back of the net.
In the 82nd minute, Hilton served a curling cross from the right flank on a platter for fellow midfielder Marco Micaletto to head into the top right corner and ensure the Rowdies head into the USL Championship Playoffs on a three-match winning streak.
Following his impressive shift against Jacksonville, Hilton is tied for 11th on the USL Championship’s all-time leaderboard for regular season assists. Hilton, who is the longest serving player on the Rowdies roster, has 39 regular season assists across his career. The 33-year-old also ranks second in appearances for the Rowdies in the Modern Era with 182 appearances across all competitions over his seven seasons with the club.
The Rowdies kick off the USL Championship Playoffs as the top overall seed at Al Lang Stadium this Friday, October 30 against Miami FC. The Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 24
GK – Luis Zamudio, Charleston Battery
D – Sebastian Tregarthen, Birmingham Legion FC
D – Lee Desmond, Sacramento Republic FC
D – Graham Smith, Charleston Battery
M – James Murphy, Loudoun United FC
M – Memo Rodríguez, Sacramento Republic FC
M – Lewis Hilton, Tampa Bay Rowdies
M – Emil Cuello, San Antonio FC
F – Juan Carlos Obregon Jr., Brooklyn FC
F – Trevor Amann, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
F – Ihsan Sacko, Phoenix Rising FC
Coach – Alan McCann, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
Bench – Ryan Schewe (LOU), Salvatore Mazzaferro (LDN), Brian Schaefer (TBR), Aaron Molloy (LEX), Danny Griffin (PIT), Emmanuel Samadia (HFD), Abdellatif Aboukoura (LDN)
