Fourth Hat Trick in Club History Helps Venezuelan Striker Earn First TotW Placement
TAMPA/INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, June 7, 2022) – The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 13 of the 2022 regular season on Tuesday, with Indy Eleven forward Manuel Arteaga voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after recording a first-half hat trick against the Charleston Battery on Saturday night in a 4-3 victory for the Boys in Blue at Patriots Point.
After leading Indy Eleven with 10 tallies during his first campaign in the Circle City in 2021, Arteaga broke out for his first goals this season in a huge way against Charleston. The Venezuelan forward struck first in the 25th minute to double Indy’s lead and then added goals in the 28th and 37th minute to complete a 12-minute hat trick, one of the fastest in the USL Championship’s history after former Eleven performer Dane Kelly’s eight-minute hat trick during the 2017 season for Reno 1868 FC against Tacoma Defiance. In all, Arteaga put all six of his shots during the first half on frame, giving him the most in a single-game in the Championship this season and tying for the second-highest single-game effort in the category in the league’s 12-year history.
Arteaga became the third Eleven player to score a hat trick and registered the fourth across all competitions in the club’s now nine-season history. In addition to being the fastest hat trick recorded by an Indy player, Arteaga’s outburst made him the first member of Indiana’s Team to score three goals in a half, the first to score a hat trick on the road, and the first to record a hat trick in Indy Eleven’s now four-plus seasons in the USL Championship.
Prior to Saturday, the team’s most recent hat trick was notched by Eamon Zayed nearly six years ago on Aug. 3, 2016, against Jacksonville Armada FC (5-2 W), which was the Irishman’s second of the NASL season on the heels of his “Miracle at The Mike” performance on June 11 against the Carolina RailHawks (4-1 W). The first hat trick in Eleven annals came on May 28, 2014, via Blake Smith against the Dayton Dutch Lions in a 5-2 win in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup that marked the team’s first ever win in an official competition.
Arteaga is the fourth member of the Boys in Blue to be named to the Team of the Week proper in 2022, joining Stefano Pinho (Week 7), Nicky Law (Week 6), and the recently departed Elliot Panicco (Week 3). In addition to Arteaga’s plaudits, Indy Eleven forward Solomon Asante also earned a place on the Team of the Week’s seven-man “honorable mention” bench for notching a pair of assists during his first start for the club on Saturday night. The Ghanaian dynamo now has 44 assists in his four-plus seasons in the USL Championship, tying him for second-place on the league’s career regular season chart in the category, just five behind leader Kenardo Forbes of Pittsburgh.
Arteaga earned 69 percent of the ballot to claim the award. Atlanta United 2’s Robbie Mertz finished second on 15 percent after recording three goals across two outings for his side against Rio Grande Valley FC and Memphis 901 FC last week. The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 13
GK – Austin Wormell, FC Tulsa: Making his first two starts of the season, Wormell made 10 saves on 11 shots on target faced as Tulsa drew with both the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Miami FC, posting a cumulative -2.53 Goals Minus Expected Goals rate across the two contests.
D – Rece Buckmaster, Memphis 901 FC: Buckmaster recorded a pair of assists and six chances created overall while making five interceptions and six recoveries and winning 2 of 2 duels defensively in Memphis’ 5-2 victory against Atlanta United 2.
D – Matt Mahoney, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: Mahoney scored the third goal of the night to cap a strong performance overall as he completed 67 of 75 passes, won 3 of 3 aerial duels and made nine recoveries and two interceptions in Colorado Springs’ 3-0 win against Las Vegas.
D – Alex Crognale, Birmingham Legion FC: Crognale helped Legion FC earn a shutout victory on the road in Phoenix, winning 5 of 6 duels and 3 of 4 aerial duels while making seven clearances and a key late game block to preserve a 1-0 win at Wild Horse Pass.
M – Robbie Mertz, Atlanta United 2: Mertz shone individually in Atlanta’s two outings, recording three goals and eight chances created while completing 57 of 74 passes and recording three interceptions and five recoveries for the week.
M – Prosper Kasim, Birmingham Legion FC: The Ghanaian scored the only goal as Birmingham earned victory against Phoenix Rising FC at Wild Horse Pass and ended the night with four shots and four chances created while completing 4 of 6 dribbles and winning 5 of 9 duels.
M – Michee Ngalina, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: Ngalina recorded one goal on three shots, had two chances created and completed 4 of 6 dribbles while winning 6 of 10 duels defensively in the Switchbacks’ 3-0 victory against Las Vegas Lights FC.
M – Robert Coronado, Rio Grande Valley FC: Coronado came off the bench to lead the Toros to a dramatic 4-3 victory against Atlanta United 2 on Wednesday night, scoring the final two goals including the winner in the second minute of stoppage time on four shots while completing 10 of 13 passes.
F – Manuel Arteaga, Indy Eleven: Arteaga scored a first-half hat trick the span of 12 minutes to get off the mark this season and recorded six shots overall, all of which were on target, to lead Indy to a 4-3 victory against the Charleston Battery on Saturday.
F – Luiz Fernando, Memphis 901 FC: The Brazilian notched a pair of assists and had six chances created overall while recording two shots, completing 5 of 7 dribbles and winning 10 of 15 duels in Memphis’ 5-2 victory against Atlanta United 2 on Saturday.
F – Ottar Magnus Karlsson, Oakland Roots SC: Karlsson scored a pair of goals, including a stoppage-time winner against Orange County SC on Wednesday night, and then notched an assist in Oakland’s win in Monterey Bay on Saturday to guide a six-point week for Roots SC.
Bench: Alex Tambakis (NM), Jimmy Ockford (COS), Adrian Diz Pe (TUL), Leo Fernandes (TBR), Solomon Asante (IND), Phillip Goodrum (MEM), Thomas Amang (SD)
