ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (June 4, 2024) – The USL Championship revealed the Team of the Week for Week 13 of the 2024 season on Tuesday, with Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielder Charlie Dennis earning a spot and Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson earning Coach of the Week coming off of the team’s statement 1-0 win at Sacramento Republic FC over the week.
This is the second Team of the Week selection for Dennis, who also earned the honor in Week 11’s 5-0 win over FC Tulsa. After missing out on the first couple months of the campaign due to injury, Dennis has slotted comfortably right back into the swing of things with a goal and an assist. The Englishman recorded the Rowdies winning goal against Sacramento, controlling a long ball played forward by keeper Jordan Farr as it bounced between the last defender and Sacramento keeper Danny Vitiello before nestling the ball into the empty net.
Neilson also makes his second appearance on the Team of the Week, following his Coach of the Week selection in Week 11 in the victory versus Tulsa that kicked off Tampa Bay’s current three-match winning streak. The Rowdies have shut out the opposition in all three of their recent wins. In a dominant performance this past Saturday, Tampa Bay handed Sacramento their first loss of the season in all competitions, outshooting their hosts 20-6 and putting 10 shots on target while only allowing 18.5 percent of the play to occur in their defensive third.
The Rowdies remain in California this Saturday to face off against Dennis’ former club, Oakland Roots SC at 10 p.m. ET.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 13
GK – Antony Siaha, Monterey Bay F.C.: The Cameroonian goalkeeper posted 13 saves across two shutouts against the Charleston Battery and New Mexico United, including a penalty save against New Mexico, to record a Goals Prevented mark for the week of -3.55.
D – Ben Ofeimu, Indy Eleven: The 23-year-old posted 14 clearances and two goal line clearances among his five blocked shots while also winning 4 of 6 duels in Indy’s 2-1 victory on the road against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
D – Delentz Pierre, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: The 23-year-old scored an outstanding long-range strike that proved to be the game-winner against Oakland Roots SC and then helped the Switchbacks preserve a shutout, winning 3 of 4 ground duels and making eight clearances at Weidner Field.
D – AJ Paterson, Birmingham Legion FC: The Grenada international recorded one assist and had two big chances created while completing 30 of 37 passes overall in Legion’s 3-1 victory at El Paso Locomotive FC while recording three interceptions and two clearances defensively.
D – Triston Hodge, Hartford Athletic: The Trinidad and Tobago international notched one assist and three chances created in Hartford’s 1-1 draw with Rhode Island FC and won 8 of 9 ground duels while making three clearances and six recoveries defensively.
M – Florian Valot, Loudoun United FC: The French midfielder recorded a goal and an assist as United took its third consecutive victory with a 3-0 win against FC Tulsa while also completing 41 of 51 passes and winning 2 of 2 tackles.
M – Jake Morris, Louisville City FC: The 25-year-old scored once and had three shots and three chances created in LouCity’s 5-1 victory against Detroit City FC while completing 49 of 66 passes and playing 180 minutes across LouCity’s two wins on the week.
M – Kyle Scott, Orange County SC: Scott scored his first goal for OCSC and completed 50 of 55 passes while winning 6 of 11 duels in the side’s 3-2 victory against Detroit City FC on Saturday night.
F – Tyler Pasher, Birmingham Legion FC: The Canadian scored once and had five shots overall while recording two key passes in Legion’s 3-1 victory against El Paso Locomotive FC and won 7 of 13 duels while completing 24 of 33 passes overall.
F – Wilson Harris, Louisville City FC: The 24-year-old recorded a pair of goals in LouCity’s 5-1 victory against Detroit City FC on Wednesday night and had three shots on target while completing 11 of 14 passes and winning 4 of 6 ground duels.
F – Charlie Dennis, Tampa Bay Rowdies: The English attacking midfielder scored the only goal as the Rowdies handed Sacramento Republic FC its first defeat across all competitions and had four chances created overall while completing 15 of 17 passes and winning 11 of 20 duels.
Coach – Robbie Neilson, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Neilson’s side put in a dominant display in handing Sacramento Republic FC its first loss of the season in all competitions as the Rowdies outshot Sacramento 20-6 and had 10 shots on target while only allowing 18.5 percent of the play to occur in Tampa Bay’s defensive third.
Bench: Rocco Ríos Novo (PHX), Robby Dambrot (LDN), Shawn Smart (LV), Elijah Wynder (LOU), Aaron Molloy (CHS), Thomas Amang (OC), Mark Doyle (RI)
