Lower Division Five Stars - Round 9... plus US Open Cup Rd 4

A little late, but here is the Five Stars for the lower division campaign through games of June 3 along with the fourth installment of the US Open Cup rankings. in the Lower Division rankings, it started out as a strikers' league, but has definitely transitioned into being all about the goalkeepers. In the Open Cup, the all-tournament list saw little change as the MLS teams are yet to have any consistent goal scorers to move up a list featuring a lot of great early round performances. 

Five Stars of the Week – Round 9

1 – Corey Hertzog – F – Wilmington Hammerheads: A fantastic performance with two goals and an assist gave the Hammers a 3-1 win over the previously unbeaten league leader Orlando City.  

2 – Ronnie Pascale – G – Richmond Kickers: One goal allowed and 19 saves in a pair of positive road results, a 1-1 draw in Harrisburg and a 1-0 win at Rochester.

3 – Ciaran O’Brien – M – Atlanta Silverbacks: A goal and an assist helped the club get its first win of the season, downing FC Edmonton 2-1.

Lower Division Five Stars - Round 8... plus US Open Cup Rd 3

Five Stars of the Week - Round 8 (ending May 27)

1 – Shaun Saiko – F – FC Edmonton: Gave the club a two goal lead against one of the hottest sides in the league with a goal and an assist against starting keeper Daryl Sattler, who had allowed only one goal in previous five appearances, for a 2-2 draw against the San Antonio Scorpions. 

2 – Chris Agorsor – F – Richmond Kickers: Struck for a pair of goals late against Wilmington Hammerheads in a 3-1 victory.

3 – Mitch Hildebrandt – G – Minnesota Stars: Made four saves in his rookie debut, posting a shutout on the road as the team rested starters in advance of its US Open Cup contest.

4 – Frankie Sanfilippo – D – Tampa Bay Rowdies: He was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week for leading the Rowdies to a scoreless draw against the unbeaten defending champion Minnesota Stars, who had scored at least two goals in each of their last five games and had not been shutout since their opening two matches.

Lower Division Five Stars - Round 7... plus US Open Cup Rd 2

Five Stars of the Week - Round 7

1 – Jonathan Greenfield – D – San Antonio Scorpions: The expansion side continues to impress with its current run. On Saturday they blanked another club that has been hot of late, FC Edmonton, with Greenfield also picking up for an unusually silent offense by providing a goal and assist. 

2 – Yann Ekra – F – Harrisburg City Islanders: Tallied a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over the visiting Dayton Dutch Lions. Normally, this would be a number one performance, but Dayton had played a valiant 1-1 draw in Rochester the night before.

3 – Nick Noble – G – Harrisburg City Islanders: With the Open Cup looming Tuesday, he played the entirety of both games at home, getting a pair of shutouts against Pittsburgh, 0-0, and Dayton, 4-0, with eight saves.

Lower Division Five Stars - Round 6

Five Stars of the Week*

1 – Kristian Nicht– G – Rochester Rhinos: Two shutouts on the road in 1-0 wins at both Charlotte and Charleston, posting 10 saves in the victory against the Battery.

2 – Pablo Campos – F – San Antonio Scorpions: The striker scored twice on the road for a 2-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. 

3 – Ilja vanLeerdam – M – FC Edmonton: A goal and assist for a 2-0 win in Atlanta gave the Canadians their second victory, the first on the road.

4 – Bright Dike – F – LA Blues: On loan from the MLS Portland Timbers, the striker was dangerous in his debut Friday, a 1-0 win in Dayton, and then tallied a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win at Pittsburgh.

Lower Division Five Stars - Round 5

It was a big week for players coming off the bench. Three of the Five Stars were second half substitutes...

1 – Shaun Saiko – F – FC Edmonton: Led the club to a big 3-0 win days after falling in the first leg of the Canadian Championship first leg, scoring three goals against the Carolina RailHawks.

2 – Joseph Kabwe – M – Charlotte Eagles: He came off the bench with a half-hour left and rallied Charlotte to a victory in Harrisburg, setting up two goals for the 2-1 win. 

3 – Walter Restrepo – M – Fort Lauderdale Strikers: With the club trailing by two with 25 minutes left, he scored to cut the deficit in half and set up the equalizer to give the Strikers the 3-3 draw at home.

Lower Division Five Stars – Round 4

1 – Aly Hassan – F – Fort Lauderdale Strikers: When Andy Herron went down with injury it looked like the Strikers would be in trouble. Instead, Hassan thrived with three goals, giving the club a 2-0 lead against unbeaten Puerto Rico Wednesday and then tallying the 3-2 winner after the Islanders had rallied.

2 – Peter Byers – F – Antigua Barracudas: Byers gave Antigua the lead 12 minutes in and after Charlotte tied it back up he set up two Stefan Smith goals in five minutes to give the club what ended up as a 3-2 victory. 

3 – Reinaldo Navia – F – Atlanta Silverbacks: He broke a scoreless stalemate in the second half with two goals en route to the club’s 3-3 draw with Minnesota.

LD Five Stars – Round 3

A clean sweep on the weekly list goes to NASL players as team efforts were the theme of the week in USL Pro...

1 – Dan Antoniuk – F – Tampa Bay Rowdies: The veteran forward came off the bench to the detriment of two former clubs, setting up an equalizer in a 1-1 against the Carolina RailHawks and scoring the go-ahead goal in a 1-1 road draw against the Atlanta Silverbacks. Both goals were recorded as being in the 70th minute, with only nine seconds difference.

2 – Pablo Campos – F – San Antonio Scorpions: With a goal and an assist, the expansion side tied Fort Lauderdale 2-2. He ended the new club’s scoreless status with a first-half equalizer four minutes before the break. Then, just as it looked like second home loss in as many games, Campos struck a perfectly-placed long ball beyond the defenders’ reach to an awaiting Hans Denissen, who buried the stoppage time equalizer for the club’s first point at home.

3 – Andy Herron – F – Fort Lauderdale Strikers: Herron gave the Strikers the lead twice on the road in San Antonio, lifting his tally to three for the season. He surprised Pat Hannigan from an acute angle in the 32nd minute and restored the lead six minutes into the second half.

LD Five Stars - Round 2

Five Stars of the Week – Round 2

1 – Reinaldo Navia – F – Atlanta Silverbacks: Scored two goals in a 4-4 draw against Carolina, the second coming while playing a man down.

2 – John Rooney – F – Orlando City: The striker gave the Wilmington Hammerheads a rude opening to their season, tallying two goals (one penalty) and an assist in the contest.

Lower Division Five Stars

Five Stars of the Week

1 - Stefan Smith – F – Antigua Barracuda: The striker hit the post in a 1-0 loss Friday in a weekend split against Pittsburgh. On Sunday he was fouled in the box for a penalty (missed by Peter Byers) and went on to score the second and third goals to push the lead to three for a 3-1 win.

2 - Jose Cuevas – M – Charleston Battery: Scored both goals in the club’s 2-1 road victory over the Richmond Kickers in a contest of two clubs kicking off their 20th seasons.

3 - Ray Burse – G – Carolina RailHawks: Made excellent saves on the road to blank the defending champion Minnesota Stars in a scoreless draw in first game under new coach Colin Clarke.

4 - Stanley Nyazamba – M – Richmond Kickers: Nearly set up two goals on dangerous chances before scoring equalizer himself in2-1 loss to Charleston.

5 - Pat Hannigan – G – San Antonio Scorpions: Made good saves, five stops total, in expansion club’s scoreless draw on the road in Atlanta.

Five Stars for the Season

First Five: 1 Stefan Smith, 2 Jose Cuevas, 3 Ray Burse, 4 Stanley Nyazamba, 5 Pat Hannigan… The next Five: 6 John Wilson (D, Charleston), 7 Matthew Delicate (F, Richmond), 8 (Scott Lorenz (M, Fort Lauderdale), 9 Nicholas Addlery (F, Puerto Rico), 10 Danilo Turcios (M, Atlanta)

About Five Stars:
WEEK: The top five professional lower division performers in the North American Soccer League and USL Pro.
SEASON: The top five professional lower division performers cumulatively for the year in the NASL and USL Pro. The list is updated weekly.