Swope Park Rangers defender Amer Didic has been named to the USL Team of the Week for Week 23, while captain Christian Duke has been selected on the bench.
Didic earns his fourth USL Team of the Week inclusion of the season after holding the USL Western Conference’s top scoring team, LA Galaxy II, to one goal on the night while he produced a crucial goal-saving clearance to deny Ethan Zubak a certain equalizing strike in the 55th minute of the contest.
Duke scored his first goal for the club in the 16th minute – and his first USL goal since Aug. 4, 2013 while on loan at Orlando City SC from Sporting KC. The SPR captain made a late run into the box to meet Ayrton’s floated cross and head beyond Clement Diop in the Galaxy II goal to make it 1-1 and send the Rangers on their way to claiming all three points.
Didic, 21, has played in 22 games this season for the Rangers, starting 15. The rookie out of Baker University has played the full 90 minutes in every shutout this season, while he also earned USL Team of the Week honors for Weeks 14, 15 and 19. The Edmonton, Canada native was included on Sporting KC’s Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League roster and played every minute of the club’s opening two games against Central FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Overland Park, Kan. native Duke is one of three players to start all 24 games for the Rangers this season, leading the team with 2,127 minutes played. The 25-year-old, who became SPR’s first-ever signing in late 2015, was named club captain in the week heading into the season opener. Duke was previously named to the bench of the USL Team of the Week for Week 5 after an impressive performance against former club OKC Energy FC on April 23.
Didic, Duke and the Swope Park Rangers are back in action tomorrow night when they host San Antonio FC at Swope Soccer Village, knowing a win will catapult SPR into a playoff position. 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 – Matt Cardone, San Antonio FC: Cardone’s seven-save shutout paved the way to a victory for SAFC as it maintained eighth place in the Western Conference by defeating Saint Louis.
D – Sergio Campbell, Pittsburgh Riverhounds: Campbell scored the equalizer as the Riverhounds finished off a good week with a 1-1 draw against the Harrisburg City Islanders.
D – Amer Didic, Swope Park Rangers: Didic was big at the back, most notably with a goal-line clearance that preserved a 2-1 win against the LA Galaxy II for the Rangers.
D – Aaron Long, New York Red Bulls II: Long went the full 90 minutes in both games as NYRBII took shutout victories against Toronto and Cincinnati.
M – Guy Abend, Louisville City FC: Abend scored the only goal as Louisville edged out Bethlehem Steel FC 1-0 at Slugger Field.
M – Scott Thomsen, Richmond Kickers: Thomsen’s first professional goal led the Kickers to a 1-0 win against Orlando City B, and extended the side’s undefeated streak to nine games.
M – Louis Beland-Goyette, FC Montreal: Beland-Goyette scored the second goal in Montreal’s thrilling 4-3 win against Toronto on Sunday for its fourth successive victory.
M – Ataullah Guerra, Charleston Battery: Guerra was strong in midfield all game, and notched the assist on Maikel Chang’s winner in a 1-0 victory against the Charlotte Independence.
F – Cameron Iwasa, Sacramento Republic FC: Iwasa had the only goal as Republic FC took a big 1-0 victory against Orange County Blues FC last Wednesday night.
F – Ruben Luna, Rio Grande Valley FC: Luna scored both goals as the Toros took a 2-1 win against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to move into second in the West.
F – Corey Hertzog, Pittsburgh Riverhounds: Hertzog scored twice as the Riverhounds took a 4-1 victory against Wilmington Hammerheads FC at Highmark Stadium.
Bench: Spencer Richey (VAN), Christian Duke (SPR), Alex Lee (RIC), Miguel Gonzalez (COS), Ricardo John (TOR), Maikon Orellana (RM), Steevan Dos Santos (ROC)
