USL Western Conference Best XI - Week 9

In a week that saw three games with at least five total games scored, many teams that had been underrepresented in the previous weeks worked their way back into our Team of the Week.

Read up on our methodology here, and you can read last week’s Best XI here.

Goalkeeper: Charlie Lyon – Orange County SC, 3180 pts

Even after having a player sent off 25 minutes into the game, Lyon was able to record eight saves, including saving a penalty kick. His performance earned him honor of being the first goalkeeper named to the Team of the Week who lost their game.

Defender: Jimmy Ockford – Reno 1868, 2646 pts

Ockford added a late goal to a shutout victory and completed 68 of 70 passes to earn a spot on the team of the week.

Defender: Chris Christian – Sacramento Republic, 2745 pts

Christian won a majority of his duels, recorded seven total clearances and scored the game winning goal as Sacramento broke a scoreless streak.

Defender: Michael Harris – Oklahoma City, 3087 pts

Harris created four chances, and added in nine combined clearances and interceptions as Oklahoma City was able to hold on for a 1-0 victory against Orange County.

Midfielder: Hugh Dixon – Oklahoma City, 2915 pts

Dixon scored the lone goal of the match on four total shots. He added two chances created and won over half of his duels to help the Energy get a win.

Midfielder: Danny Barrera – Sacramento Republic, 3564 pts

Barrera was the central focus of the Sacramento offense as he created six chances, notched one assist and scored a goal of his own as Sacramento broke out of their offensive slump.

Midfielder: Sebastian Velasquez – Real Monarchs SLC, 3825 pts

He only had two shots all game, but both of them found the back of the net as the Monarchs avenged their only loss of the season by blowing out the Switchbacks.

Midfielder: Daniel Haber – Real Monarchs SLC, 3922 pts

Haber picked up a goal and a pair of assists with three total chances created as he remains a key component of the deadly Monarch attach early this season.

Forward: Sammy Ochoa – Sacramento Republic, 3051 pts

Ochoa only had one shot all game but it went into the back of the net, as the striker supplemented the goal with an assist and two created chances of his own.

Forward: Chandler Hoffman – Real Monarchs SLC, 3821 pts

Hoffman had three shots on target, and scored on two of them as he picked up a brace against Colorado Springs. He added a created chance and won all of his duels as the Monarchs continue to roll.

Forward: Dane Kelly – Reno 1868, 4377 pts – Player of the Week

After notching his second hat trick of the season and taking over as the league’s leading scorer, Kelly definitely deserved Player of the Week Honors this week. Kelly had scored three goals, two from the penalty spot, in the first thirty five minutes of play this year.

Honorable Mentions:

Goalkeeper: Connor Sparrow – Real Monarchs SLC, 2070 pts

Defender: Brent Richards – Reno 1868, 2641 pts

Midfielder: Juan Caffa – Tulsa Roughnecks, 2545 pts

Forward: Wojciech Wojcik – Oklahoma City Energy, 2411 pts

Thoughts:

We have a new member of the two-time Team of the Week club in Dane Kelly, who continues to break his own record for most goals scored in USL history. We also saw San Antonio shut out of Team of the Week appearances for the first time since Week 3. With that, Real Monarchs are the team with the most nominations.

Top 5 Most Represented Teams:

Real Monarchs SLC - 17

San Antonio FC - 15

Tulsa Roughnecks - 10

Rio Grande Valley - 8

Sacramento Republic - 8