June 4, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release
The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 13 of the 2024 regular season on Tuesday, with Phoenix Rising FC goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo earning an honorable mention (on his birthday) for his 10-save shutout on the road in Las Vegas over the weekend.
This is the third time this season Rios Novo has been named to the USL Championship Team of the Week. He currently ranks second in the league in saves with 42. His 10-save performance vs. Vegas was the second most saves in a single game in Rising history, surpassing Andre Rawls’ nine-save performance against Sacramento Republic FC in the 2021 season. Carl Woszczynski holds the franchise record for a 13-save game during Arizona United’s 2015 season.
Monterey Bay F.C. goalkeeper Antony Siaha was voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after recording 13 saves across a pair of shutouts against the Charleston Battery and New Mexico United as his side earned a four-point week.
Currently in his third season with Monterey Bay, the Cameroonian shot-stopper was at the top of his game over the past week of action. Siaha posted a six-save shutout on Wednesday night against the Charleston Battery – who entered the week as the second-high scoring side in the Championship – including a key late save to preserve a point in a 0-0 draw.
The 26-year-old then raised his performance another notch on Sunday evening with a seven-save shutout against Western Conference leader New Mexico United in a 1-0 victory at Cardinale Stadium. Siaha’s performance was highlighted by an 82nd-minute penalty save to deny New Mexico’s Mukwelle Akale that kept the hosts ahead. Combined over his two performances, Siaha posted a Goals Prevented mark for the week of -3.55 to help Monterey Bay break a recent winless run as the side returned to third place in the Western Conference.
“The whole team was locked in together,” said Siaha following the contest with Charleston. “It’s our collective goal to keep clean sheets, but we’ve been letting a lot of goals in recently, so this was big for us. Everybody wanted it tonight, it was all about intensity and mentality. Now we’re going to do our best to continue it.”
Siaha earned 58 percent of the ballot to claim the award. Louisville City FC forward Wilson Harris finished second on 17 percent after scoring a pair of goals in LouCity’s 5-1 victory against Detroit City FC on…