August 15, 2022 – United Soccer League One (USL1) News Release
TAMPA, Fla. – USL League One today announced the Team of the Week for Week 20 of the 2022 regular season with the Charlotte Independence’s Tresor Mbuyu named Player of the Week. The Congolese winger earned his second Player of the Week nod thanks to a one-goal, one-assist performance in a win against South Georgia.
Following Shalom Dutey’s opening score in the 16th minute for Charlotte against South Georgia, Tresor Mbuyu and Khori Bennett combined to propel the Jacks to an impressive victory. Just before the end of the first half, Bennett raced down the pitch and sliced a perfect pass across four Tormenta FC defenders where Mbuyu got on the end of it to poke it in. Wrapping things up, Mbuyu calmly played a ball to the feet of Bennett who promptly slotted it beyond Jara in goal to cap off the 3-0 Independence victory.
“This was a big result for the team,” Mbuyu said. “We knew going into it we had to get a result and that’s what we did. Now we have to carry the momentum over for another big game on Wednesday.”
“It was a really good road performance for us,” Independence Head Coach Mike Jeffries said. “We managed a lot of stretches where we were under pressure. Tormenta FC is a very good team and they’re very creative, so I thought we managed those stretches well.”
Charlotte leads the way with three players named to the Team of the Week, while Greenville Triumph SC and Forward Madison FC each see two players named to the list. In total, seven teams are represented on Week 20’s Team of the Week.
GK – Paul Christensen, Greenville Triumph SC: Christensen came out victorious in a battle of the top two teams in the league, reeling in four saves, recording a clean sheet and denying a potential Richmond equalizer in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
D – Shalom Dutey, Charlotte Independence: Dutey scored his fourth goal of the season in Charlotte’s 3-0 victory in Statesboro. The Togolese defender added to his strong outing with four clearances, four interceptions and won 10 of 15 ground and aerial duels.
D – Christian Lue Young, North Carolina FC: In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Lue Young registered his first NCFC goal in match-winning fashion against Forward Madison FC on Wednesday. Across two Week 20 matches, Lue Young tallied three chances created, three clearances and three interceptions.
D – Cyrus Rad, Forward Madison FC: In 180 minutes of action, Rad racked up the most clearances and…