With another week in the books for the USL, we introduce the best players for Week 2. We have a new scenario regarding teams playing twice in a week, with Portland Timbers getting two matches in Week 2 play. In these situations, we will average the points with the following scenario: 1.1*(0.7*Points from Highest Game + 0.3*Points from Lowest Game). Unfortunately for Portland, that did not help them this week.

Best XI - Week 2

Goalkeeper: Bryan Byars, Tulsa Roughnecks: 4340 pts

A solid eight save performance in a shutout win saw the Roughnecks win their [redacted] game in a row as they withstood a late push from the Toros.

Defender: Brenton Griffiths, Reno 1868, 2974 pts

Managing to make the team of the week without despite losing the game itself, Griffiths made the most of his lone shot on goal against Whitecaps 2. He became the first player in Reno history to score a goal in USL play and the first Reno player to reach our team of the week.

Defender: Francisco Ugarte, Tulsa Roughnecks, 3227 pts

Winner of thirteen duels, Ugarte was a critical part of the Roughnecks escaping with all three points. He added six interceptions and nine clearances to that tally to be the second best defender in the West in week 2.

Defender: Ben Newnam, San Antonio FC, 3420 pts

Newnam recorded an assist to go with a balanced all around defensive outing as San Antonio blanked Los Dos at home.

Midfielder: Michael Reed, San Antonio FC, 3299 pts

Not even needing the entire 90 minutes to make the team of the week, Reed’s one goal performance in a blowout win against Los Angeles was enough to see him sneak onto the team of the week.

Midfielder: Joey Calistri, Tulsa Roughnecks, 3777 pts

Calistri had the only goal of the game against Rio Grande Valley, but he also created multiple chances and won a majority of his duels.

Midfielder: Zach Mathers, Seattle Sounders 2, 4424 pts

Mathers was all over Portland, accounting for a goal, five created chances, and three shots on target for Seattle. If he can keep that pace up he will be a major threat to any team moving forward.

Midfielder: Billy Forbes, San Antonio FC, 4490 pts

One goal, one assist, and a total of three on target strikes was enough for Forbes to be the highest rated midfielder and the second highest point total in the West. Los Dos has no response to Forbes this week.

Forward: Kharlton Belmar, Swope Park Rangers, 3432 pts

Belmar scored the lone goal against his former team and finished at 80% passing accuracy.

Forward: Wilson Kneeshaw, Sacramento Republic, 4379

Kneeshaw continued his prolific shot pace, putting up five shots this week, three of which ended up on target and one in the back of the net. He added an assist to earn his first team of the week honors.

Forward: Sammy Ochoa, Sacramento Republic, 5000 player of the week

Ochoa now leads the USL in goals scored after netting a brace against Orange County. He took home our Western Conference player of the week honors as the only person to crack the 5000 point mark for this week.

Honorable Mentions

Goalkeeper: Tyler Miller, Seattle Sounders 2, 3950

Defender: James Musa, Swope Park Rangers, 2744

Midfielder: Rafael Castillo, San Antonio FC, 3170

Forward: Seyi Adekoya, Seattle Sounders 2, 2996

Thoughts

This week we saw two players in Ugarte and Ochoa lock down back to back team of the week performances as six different teams were represented this week. With Tulsa and Sacramento matching up this coming week, we will see the battle of two of the most represented teams in the first two weeks of play.

Will Ugarte and Ochoa continue their runs as top players? Will other teams finally start getting on board? Come back next week as we once again setup the team of the week.