TULSA — Diogo Pacheco and Owen Damm capped off two stunning performances for FC Tulsa with respective Team of the Week honors.
Forward Diogo Pacheco was named to Team of the Week after scoring two goals against San Antonio FC on Saturday, giving FC Tulsa the 2-1 win. His first goal came off a cross from Owen Damm with Pacheco beating two defenders and then slotting the ball past the San Antonio goalkeeper to find the back of the net. His second goal came off a header from a Milo Yosef corner kick.
The Portuguese winger had a week of firsts. He got his first USL Championship start, first goal, first brace and first USL Championship Team of the Week honor. Pacheco had four shots with three of them being on target, blocked one shot, accurately connected 13 passes, and amassed 44 total touches. Pacheco won two tackles, had one interception and three recoveries. Diogo was named Man of the Match, also a first for the 25-year-old.
“Diogo came in with a spark and he had a really good week of training,” said Head Coach Mario Sanchez. “When it comes down to it, he earned it, and it is awesome for him to get those two goals.”
“Last week, I think I had a really good week of training and coach gave me the opportunity. I tried to give my best, and I’m happy to contribute with two goals tonight.” said Pacheco post-match.
20-year-old Defender Owen Damm was named to Team of the Week after playing his best game since his move to FC Tulsa. Damm assisted in Pacheco’s first goal against San Antonio FC with a soaring cross from the San Antonio half of the field. Damm created two chances for FC Tulsa, and racked up a total of 65 touches and 23 accurate passes, leaving him with a 72% passing accuracy for the match. Damm won 11 of his 16 duels, had two interceptions and six recoveries. Owen is finding his stride with the team, and when asked about the locker room in the post match press conference he said, “They’re really easy to get along with. They made me feel welcome from day one, and I’m glad, because not every locker room is like that. It’s definitely nice to have those guys as teammates.”
Mario Sanchez speaks highly of Owen and his addition to the team. He said, “The first goal was great and Owen did amazing to beat his defender and play a nice pass to Diogo. That was huge. This is stuff we worked on all week, and getting better in the wide areas. It’s cool to see that pay off and then we actually worked on the corner kicks all week as well, so again, really nice to see that pay off.”
This is the first Team of the Week selection for each player.
The complete lineup for the Week 14 USL Championship Team of the Week is below:
GK – Danny Vitiello, Sacramento Republic FC: The reigning Championship Goalkeeper of the Year posted a four-save shutout including a penalty kick save late on as Sacramento took a 2-0 victory on the road against NorCal rival Monterey Bay F.C.
D – Memo Diaz, Oakland Roots SC: The versatile right back provided the assist on Oakland’s winner against the Tampa Bay Rowdies and recorded six interceptions, six recoveries and four clearances defensively in his side’s 1-0 win.
D – Sean Totsch, Louisville City FC: The veteran center back put in a sterling all-around display, winning 7 of 7 duels and 2 of 2 tackles while making five clearances and blocking three shots before converting his 11th consecutive penalty kick to seal LouCity’s 2-1 win against North Carolina FC.
D – Owen Damm, FC Tulsa: The 20-year-old recorded his first professional assist in Tulsa’s 2-1 victory against San Antonio FC and won 8 of 10 ground duels and 2 of 3 tackles while also recording two interceptions and three clearances at ONEOK Field.
MF – Diogo Pacheco, FC Tulsa: The Portuguese winger scored his first two goals in the Championship to lead Tulsa to a 2-1 victory against San Antonio FC and had four shots overall while also winning 2 of 2 tackles defensively.
MF – Valentin Noël, Las Vegas Lights FC: The French midfielder notched his sixth goal of the season to cap an impressive all-around performance that saw him complete 49 of 55 passes and record two chances created in the Lights’ 3-1 victory against Miami FC at Cashman Field.
MF – Maxi Rodrigues, Detroit City FC: The veteran midfielder scored the opening goal in DCFC’s 2-0 victory against Rhode Island FC and was impressive on and off the ball otherwise, completing 32 of 37 passes and winning 6 of 8 duels while making seven recoveries at Beirne Stadium.
MF – Jorge Hernadez, San Antonio FC: In a tough week for SAFC, Hernandez continued to shine as he recorded a standout long-range finish, hit the woodwork once, and notched eight chances created across two games while also winning 3 of 4 tackles defensively.
F – Ben Morris, Detroit City FC: The English forward notched one assist and had two shots in Le Rouge’s 2-0 victory against Rhode Island FC and was consistently active defensively, winning 2 of 2 tackles and making 14 recoveries as part of the side’s defensive pressure.
F – Dariusz Formella, Phoenix Rising FC: The Polish forward scored both goals – including a late winner with three minutes to go – as Rising took a 2-1 victory against Orange County SC while recording five shots on target and completing 21 of 22 passes overall.
F – Khori Bennett, Las Vegas Lights FC: The 26-year-old scored a pair of goals to lead Las Vegas to a 3-1 victory against Miami FC while also winning a penalty kick, recording three shots overall and completing 16 of 21 passes.
Coach – Dennis Sanchez, Las Vegas Lights FC: Sanchez’s squad broke an eight-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory against Miami FC that saw the hosts control the majority of the game and win the individual battles to take all three points.
Bench – Tim Syrel (OAK), Chris Gloster (NM), Carson Vom Steeg (MEM), Gennario Nigro (LV), Jeciel Cedeño (OAK), Aiden McFadden (LOU), Kieran Phillips (SAC)
FC Tulsa returns to ONEOK Field twice next week. First, on Wednesday, June 19th to take on Miami FC and then again Saturday, June 22nd to take on Sacramento Republic FC. To purchase tickets, visit fctulsa.com/tickets.
