Swope Park Rangers midfielder Ayrton has been named to the USL Team of the Week for Week 24. The Brazilian was in a tie for second in USL Player of the Week voting, earning 21 percent of the poll conducted by a national panel of independent media.
The 22-year-old scored twice in the Rangers’ 2-1 victory over San Antonio FC on Aug. 31, including a 94th-minute penalty kick to seal all three points. The goals brought his season total to three, while he has also added four assists – placing him in a tie for the team lead.
The Team of the Week recognition is the first Ayrton has received this season, but it’s the third straight week that SPR has had at least one player recognized in the weekly honor. Oumar Ballo was named to the bench for Week 22 before Amer Didic made the full team for the fourth time this season and Christian Duke was selected on the bench for Week 23.
Ayrton and the Swope Park Rangers are back in action this weekend when they conclude their five-game homestand with a match against Tulsa Roughnecks FC at Swope Soccer Village on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and a live stream will be available on SportingKC.com, while tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
USL Team of the Week (Courtesy of USLSoccer.com)
GK – Tomas Gomez, Rochester Rhinos: Gomez recorded four saves to keep the Rhinos in the game, and helped them earn a 2-1 victory on the road in Charleston.
D – Tony Alfaro, Seattle Sounders FC 2: Alfaro played the full game in both of S2’s victories in Week 24, and provided the assist on Jordan Schweitzer’s game-winning goal against Portland.
D – Aaron Long, New York Red Bulls II: Named for a second consecutive week, Long was again impressive, and earned a penalty kick, in New York’s 2-0 win at Bethlehem Steel FC.
D – Elliott Hord, Sacramento Republic FC: Hord notched the assist on Republic FC’s game-winning goal in his first start for the club since joining from the PDL’s Fresno Fuego.
M – Aodhan Quinn, Louisville City FC: Quinn scored the winning goal and led a strong midfield display as City took a 1-0 win on the road in Montreal.
M – T.J. Casner, Rio Grande Valley FC: Casner scored the second goal as the Toros took a 2-0 victory on the road against Swope Park to extend their undefeated streak to 10 games.
M – Ayrton, Swope Park Rangers: Ayrton scored both goals, including a stoppage-time winner, as SPR defeated San Antonio FC 2-1 last Wednesday night.
M – Enzo Martinez, Charlotte Independence: Martinez scored twice as the Independence took a big 3-2 win against FC Cincinnati last Wednesday to clinch a place in the 2016 USL Playoffs.
F – Darwin Jones, Seattle Sounders FC 2: Jones scored with almost the final kick of the game as S2 took a vital 2-1 victory against Vancouver on Friday night.
F – Mike Seth, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: Seth scored the opening two goals as the Switchbacks defeated the LA Galaxy II 3-0 on Saturday night.
F – Villyan Bijev, Portland Timbers 2: Bijev scored twice to lead T2 to an impressive 4-0 victory against OKC Energy FC on Sunday night.
Bench: Callum Irving (RGV), Carlos Alvarez (SA), Irvin Parra (SEA), Gaoussou Bakayoko (ROC), Chevaughn Walsh (PGH), Luke Vercollone (COS), Ricardo Velazco (SLC)
