USL News Release

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues announced today the PDL Team of the Week for the 13th week of the USL season and the eleventh edition of the PDL Team of the Week for the year honoring Orange County Blue Star’s Goalkeeper Kris Minton as Player of the Week.

Minton had one of the best weekends of the season in carrying the Blue Star’s to three victories in three days. Along the way he picked up two clean sheets and only surrendered one goal in 270 minutes. He also saved his most spectacular save for last as he stopped a penalty kick to preserve his second shutout of the weekend. Adding to Minton’s remarkable weekend was the fact that two of the wins came against teams battling for the playoffs. Orange County eliminated the San Jose Frogs playoff chances and put a hurt on Ventura’s push for the playoffs.

Going into this weekend the Blue Stars had only two wins on the season and by more than doubling their win total over the weekend, finished their season on a high note.

Perhaps the most dramatic goal of the week came off the foot of Newark Ironbound Express defender Joseph Ruesgen who scored in the 90th minute to give his team a huge 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Rangers. The Ironbound Express was down two men to ejections and fighting for their playoff lives when Ruesgen fired a powerful shot past Ranger goalkeeper Erik Geiger to keep Newark’s playoff ambitions full of life.

In one of the most exciting games of the week forward Spencer Schomaker scored two goals to help propel the Tacoma Tide past the Cascade Surge 4-3. The win kept the Tide atop of the Northwest Division along with Vancouver Whitecaps Residency with 31 points. Tacoma finishes their season at home with a pivotal matchup against the Yakima Reds who currently sit only three points behind Tacoma and Vancouver and can tie Tacoma if they are victorious on July 19.

In another matchup with playoff implications Kalamazoo defender Terry Alvino anchored the Outrage defense to a 0-0 draw at home against Fort Wayne. That tie clinched a playoff berth for Kalamazoo as the Indiana Invaders will not be able to catch the Outrage. Alvino leads the Outrage in minutes played this season and Kalamazoo will need his steady play if they want to make any noise in the playoffs.

Defender Hugo Samano helped El Paso do what no team has ever been able to do in Mississippi, and that is beat the Brilla on their home field. Down 2-0 at halftime it did not look good for the Patriots, but a second half explosion helped carry El Paso to the victory and also kept the Patriots in the lead as they race against the Laredo Heat for the number two playoff spot in the Mid South Division. Samano found the back of the net twice in the final four minutes of the game which turned a one goal defeat into a one goal victory. The Patriots will try and take some momentum from their comeback victory into their final week of play when they take on two powerhouses in the Mid South Division. Wednesday night they will travel to Laredo to take on the Heat who they are two points ahead of and then close out the regular season at home on Saturday against the first place Austin Aztex.

Week 13
PDL Team of the Week
Pos	Name	Team	Highlights
GK	Kris Minton	Orange County	Allowed only 1 goal in 270 minutes in 3 weekend wins
D	Hugo Samano	El Paso	2 goals in 3-2 win at Mississippi
D	Terry Alvino	Kalamazoo	Anchored defense in playoff clinching performance
D	Joseph Ruesgen	Newark	GWG in 90th minute to keep playoff hopes alive
D	Javier Gonzalez	Brooklyn	1 goal in playoff clinching 3-2 win
M	Stuart Hayers	New Orleans	Solid play and GWG in upset win over Austin
M	Scott Rowling	Reading	Active entire weekend in four point road trip
M	Leonardo De Barros	Baton Rouge	1 goal and dangerous all game in 2-1 win over Austin
F	Spencer Schomaker	Tacoma	2 goals and constant pressure in 4-3 win
F	Doug DeMartin	Michigan	2 second half goals in great 3-3 tie with Chicago
F	Peter Lovell	San Francisco	3 goal weekend in two victories
Reserves (Honorable Mentions)
F	Brandon Swartzendruber	Thunder Bay	GWG and picked up an assist in 3-2 win over Kansas City
GK	Evan Bush	Cape Cod	Clean sheet in top of the table clash with Ottawa
F	Cristian Neagu	Fredericksburg	3 goal and 2 assist weekend