September 20, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Hartford Athletic News Release
Ariel Martínez and Yannik Oettl have been named to USL Championship Team of the Week for week 28. This is both player’s first Team of the Week selections of the season, and Hartford’s third and fourth selection of the 2022 season.
Martínez and Oettl both had stellar performances in Hartford’s 3-0 victory over Las Vegas last Saturday. Martínez opened up the scoring for Hartford with a goal in the 12th minute, and completed a first half brace with his second goal 16 minutes later. The 36 year old veteran showed great poise and brilliant foot skills to dribble around keeper Abraham Romero on the and finish on the open net, giving his squad an early 2-0 lead.
On the other end of the pitch, Yannik Oettl was active in net. The German keeper made five saves on the night, including a quick-reaction save on a doorstep opportunity for Vegas’s Danny Trejo, denying a header from one of the league’s top scorers. He also cleared the ball four times for Hartford, charging out of his box to shut down multiple attacking opportunities for Vegas. Oettl currently sits at 11th in the league in saves with 65, and holds a 1.35 GAA across his 14 starts.
Martínez and Oettl join Tom Brewitt, Andre Lewis, and Logan Gdula as the fourth and fifth Hartford Athletic players to earn Team of the Week honors in 2022. Gdula earned his honors in week 27, making it back to back weeks with Team of the Week performances for Hartford.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 28
Birmingham’s Enzo Martinez earns award after inspiring victory
TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 28 of the 2022 regular season on Tuesday, with Birmingham Legion FC midfielder Enzo Martinez voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball for the second time this season.
Martinez and Legion FC trailed Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 1-0 at home at halftime of last Wednesday’s match. The match was a pivotal one in the equation for seeding in the Eastern Conference. With a loss, Birmingham would have fallen four points behind Pittsburgh into 5th place in the East. The difference between finishing fourth and fifth in the table is the difference between hosting a quarterfinal match and playing it on the road, so the stakes were high.
Martinez took control of the match and carried his team to victory as Legion FC ended the night in fourth place, two points ahead of…