EDMONTON, A.B. — FC Edmonton centre-back Albert Watson was named to the North American Soccer League (NASL) Team of the Week on Wednesday, April 12. It’s the second consecutive week that the Northern Ireland defender has earned the league honour.
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Despite the Eddies losing out 1-0, the defender had another solid start defensively for FC Edmonton this past weekend at Clarke Stadium. Watson won all eight of his duels and four out of his five tackles, and also made eight clearances and five interceptions in the match.
The San Francisco Deltas earned their first league win in large part due to Tom Heinemann’s play leading the attack. On the same night, the defending champion New York Cosmos recorded their first win of the year due to a performance at the other end of the field by Jimmy Maurer.
See below for all the top performers in Week 3 of the Spring Season:
GK: Jimmy Maurer (New York Cosmos) – With Miami FC’s attack getting plenty of chances to score, Maurer proved he was up to the task. The shot-stopper made eight saves to earn a clean sheet in the 2-0 win.
DEF: Ayoze (New York Cosmos) – The veteran defender made four clearances and two interceptions to help keep Miami from scoring. He also scored the Cosmos’ second goal to seal the win.
DEF: Mechack Jérôme (Jacksonville Armada FC) – The Haitian international helped preseve the 1-0 win for Jacksonville, winning eight duels and all three of his tackles. He also made six clearances.
DEF: Albert Watson (FC Edmonton) – Despite falling to Jacksonville, Watson had another strong game at the back. He won all eight of his duels and four out of his five tackles. The veteran also made eight clearances and five interceptions in the match.
DEF: Nana Attakora (San Francisco Deltas) – The Deltas earned their first win in league play and the Canadian international played a key role. Attakora won all six of his duels and made a whopping 13 clearances in the 3-1 win over North Carolina FC.
MID: Danny Szetela (New York Cosmos) – He battled all game long, winning all three of his tackles and four duels. Szetela also scored the eventual winner as the Cosmos took all three points back to New York.
MID: Zach Steinberger (Jacksonville Armada FC) – He scored the lone goal in Armada FC’s win and battled in the midfield, winning nine duels and all six of his tackles.
MID: Kwadwo Poku (Miami FC) – Miami created 17 total chances against the Cosmos, despite the loss, and Poku was at the center of it. He created four chances during the contest and ended up with a 92 percent passing completion.
FWD: Tom Heinemann (San Francisco Deltas) – The veteran forward scored at the end of each half, leading the San Francisco attack. He also created two chances and was named Player of the Week for his brace.
FWD: Pito Ramos (Puerto Rico FC) – The Puerto Rican international continued to show how dangerous he is in attack with a goal in his second straight contest. He also created three chances for his teammates in the 1-1 draw with Indy Eleven.
FWD: Pablo Dyego (San Francisco Deltas) – He scored the go-ahead goal and eventual winner for the Deltas in the win. Dyego also tallied an assist.