TAMPA, Fla. – The PDL announced its Team of the Week for the third week of the season, with Michigan Bucks forward Zach Steinberger being honored as the Player of the Week. Steinberger played a role in all five goals for the Bucks in their 5-0 win against the Chicago Inferno, recording a hat trick and two assists, to lead Michigan to victory in the opening game of its PDL season.

Steinberger opened the scoring for the Bucks in the 19^th minute, firing home from the top of the penalty area from a pass by Adam Montague. Steinberger then assisted on a pair of goals by Montague in the final five minutes before the break, giving the Bucks a 3-0 halftime lead, before finding the net again himself just before the hour mark, volleying home a finish from Stewart Givens’ long throw-in. Steinberger capped his performance with 18 minutes to go, completing his hat trick.

Steinberger was joined in the Team of the Week’s attack by Billy Forbes of the Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors, who had a pair of goals in his side’s season-opening victory against the West Virginia Chaos. Victoria’s Brett Levis completed the trio, scoring twice as the Highlanders took their third consecutive win to start the season with a victory against the Sounders FC U23.

Manny Andrade of the Real Boston Rams led the midfield contingent, scoring twice in the club’s first victory, a 3-1 win against the Vermont Voltage. Also selected was Ricardo Velasco, who had a pair of goals in FC Tucson’s 3-1 win against the Southern California Seahorses, and U.S. U20 international Eric Miller, who had the game-winning goal in the Portland Timbers U-23s’ 2-0 win against the Sounders.

Defensively, Oklahoma City FC’s Scott Parkinson earned selection after scoring in his side’s first victory in club history. Des Moines’ Taylor Diem, who scored the only goal and was a force defensively for the Menace in their 1-0 win against Winnipeg, also earned selection, as did Ido Ligety, who played a key role in the Jersey Express’ 2-0 win against the F.A. Euro – New York Magic. Orlando City U23s’ Kyle Fisher rounded out the quartet, scoring in his side’s 3-1 win against IMG Academy Bradenton, while Laredo’s Emmanuel Frias took the goalkeeping honors after recording a shutout in the Heat’s 2-0 win against West Texas.

PDL Team of the Week

 

Pos	Player	Team	Highlights
GK	Emmanuel Frias	Laredo	Had a three-save shutout as Heat defeated Sockers
D	Scott Parkinson	Oklahoma City	Scored in OKC’s first win in franchise history
D	Taylor Diem	Des Moines	Recorded only goal, played well defensively, vs. Winnipeg
D	Ido Ligety	Jersey	Held defense together as Express took 2-0 victory
D	Kyle Fisher	Orlando	Scored and was strong defensively in win against IMG
M	Ricardo Velasco	Tucson	Had pair of goals in 3-1 win against Southern California
M	Manny Andrade	Real Boston	Lifted Rams to first win in club history with two goals
M	Eric Miller	Portland	Controlled midfield, had game-winning goal, vs. Sounders U-23
F	Zach Steinberger	Michigan	Three goals, two assists to lead Bucks past Inferno
F	Billy Forbes	Southern WV	Had pair of goals as King’s Warriors defeated Chaos
F	Brett Levis	Victoria	Continued strong start with two goals in third consecutive win

 

Honorable Mention – Austin: Chuy Cortes, Leone Cruz; Baltimore: Michael Gamble, Julio Arjona; Carolina: Mamadee Nyepon, Sean Davis; CFC Azul: Mario DiMiceli; El Paso: Naoyas Aizawa; Houston: Walter Kromholz; Jersey: Jake Keegan; Kitsap: Shane Malcolm; Laredo: Alejandro de la Garza; London: Aaron Boyd; Long Island: Dominick Sarle, Tyler Arnone; Michigan: Adam Montague; Ocean City: Ken Tribbett, Frank Tweneboa; Oklahoma City: Adam Black, Niall Crick; Portland: Mark Sherrod, Clark Phillips; Reading: Dante Marini, Jason Plumhoff; Real Boston: Cole DeNormandie; SC United: Jack Metcalf, David Kenga; Sounders FC U23: Chris Brundage, Aodhan Quinn; So. California: Zach Bautista; Southern West Virginia: Mikey Robinson; Springfield: Eric Martin; Tampa Bay: Alex Morrell, Stivan Salinas; Ventura County: Matt Wiet, Dylan Riley; Victoria: Tyler Hughes; Washington: Spencer Richey.