Sporting Kansas City defender Kaveh Rad was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week today after leading Sporting KC II to a resounding 4-1 win over FC Tulsa last Wednesday at Children’s Mercy Park.
Competing on loan from Sporting’s first team, Rad delivered a brilliant performance in central defense as SKC II stormed to their first victory of the season against a Tulsa outfit that had won three of its first four games.
The 19-year-old Rad opened his professional scoring account with a towering header early in the second half, but his impact was felt comprehensively over the course of 90 minutes. In addition to completing 62 of 71 passes at a clip of 87.3%, he won eight of nine duels and added seven clearances and 14 recoveries.
A native of North Carolina, Rad signed an MLS contract for Sporting ahead of the 2021 season and has started two of three MLS appearances for a Sporting side that occupies second place in the Western Conference. He has also started two matches on loan with Sporting KC II under head coach Paulo Nagamura, having helped the team to a clean sheet in a scoreless tie against El Paso Locomotive on May 30.
Rad could be in line to feature Wednesday night when Sporting KC II (1-3-3, 6 points) continues its USL Championship campaign with a visit to Atlanta United 2 (3-2-2, 11 points) at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Central Division matchup will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and stream live on ESPN Plus.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 7
GK – Alec Kann, Atlanta United 2: Alec Kann recorded a seven-save shutout including a late penalty kick save to deny Louisville City FC’s Niall McCabe as Atlanta took a 1-0 victory on Sunday night, its first against LouCity in its history.
D – Robert Coronado, OKC Energy FC: Robert Coronado provided the assist for Energy FC’s game-tying goal in a 1-1 draw against Indy Eleven, and went a perfect 11 of 11 in duels while completing 3 of 3 dribbles and making four interceptions.
D – Kaveh Rad, Sporting Kansas City II: Kaveh Rad scored his first goal in the professional ranks and completed 62 of 71 passes while winning 8 of 9 duels and recording seven clearances and 14 recoveries defensively.
D – Aiden McFadden, Atlanta United 2: Aiden McFadden scored the only goal as Atlanta United 2 defeated Louisville City FC 1-0 on Sunday night while also winning 11 duels and six aerial duels defensively.
D – Macauley King, El Paso Locomotive FC: Macauley King provided the assist on Locomotive FC’s goal in its 1-0 win against Austin Bold FC on Thursday night, and completed 67 of 78 passes while winning 2 of 3 tackles and 5 of 8 duels.
M – Arturo Rodriguez, Phoenix Rising FC: Arturo Rodriguez helped spark Phoenix Rising FC’s late two-goal comeback, recording seven key passes in 18 minutes and the assist on Joey Calistri’s equalizer in the side’s 2-2 draw with San Diego Loyal SC.
M – Laurent Kissiedou, Memphis 901 FC: Laurent Kissiedou recorded one assist and two key passes, completed 27 of 31 passes overall and won 7 of 10 duels as 901 FC claimed a 2-1 victory on the road against Indy Eleven on Saturday night.
M – Danny Barrera, Hartford Athletic: Danny Barrera posted a career-high single-game individual mark with three assists and also notched a goal as Hartford took a 7-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls II for the largest victory in club history.
F – Elvis Amoh, Rio Grande Valley FC: Elvis Amoh scored the second hat trick in Toros history to lead a second-half comeback for the visitors in a 4-2 win against Miami FC, while finishing the night with five shots.
F – Neco Brett, Birmingham Legion FC: Neco Brett bagged his first two-goal game of the season and recorded three shots on target overall while winning 5 of 6 duels and 3 of 3 aerial duels in Legion FC’s 2-1 win against FC Tulsa.
F – Juan Carlos Obregon Jr., Hartford Athletic: Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. scored twice on three shots overall, recorded two key passes and won 4 of 7 duels before being substituted 10 minutes into the second half of Hartford’s 7-0 win against the Red Bulls II.
Bench: Evan Louro (TBR), Caleb Wiley (ATL), Gabriel Torres (HFD), Bryce Duke (LV), Ronaldo Damus (OC), Preston Tabort Etaka (HFD), Cal Jennings (LV)
