USL Week 15 pro honors announced

USL News Release

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

TAMPA, FL — United Soccer Leagues announced the Team of the Week honors for the 15th week of the USL season, honoring Portland’s David Hayes as the USL First Division Player of the Week and Western Mass’ Almira Barbosa as the USL Second Division Player of the Week.

The Portland Timbers established a new single-season USL First Division unbeaten streak record at 16 games (9-0-7) with a 1-1 draw and a 3-0 victory over the weekend in South Florida, surpassing the 15-game (10-0-5) record set by Montreal in 2005.

Trailing 1-0 late in Friday’s contest in Miami, perhaps it was only fitting that defender David Hayes was the man to provide the equalizer to keep the streak alive and tie the Montreal mark as the Timbers defense had allowed only eight goals in its previous 15 games.

After sending a free kick outside the edge of the box over the bar three minutes earlier, Hayes would get another chance in the 78th minute when Miami committed a foul outside the box on the left side. Hayes stepped up and curled a shot from 25 yards out around Miami’s two-man wall and inside the left post for the equalizer at 1-1.

Leading 1-0 two nights later against the Blues, he nearly doubled the lead from another set piece. In the 40th minute, a free kick from the defender almost found its way into the back of the net from 35 yards out. He aimed a shot at the top left corner of the frame that slipped through the hands of Pat Hannigan, but the goalkeeper got just enough of the ball to send it over the crossbar. Instead, Hayes would have to settle with helping lead the defense to its eighth shutout of the season.

Sitting in the lower half of the table, the Western Mass Pioneers picked up a critical four points in a pair of matches against the visiting Bermuda Hogges on the weekend with striker Almir Barbosa leading the way with three goals and an assist.

On Friday evening, The Pioneers got off to a good start with a 5-0 drubbing of the last-place side. Already comfortably ahead late in the second half with a man advantage at 3-0, Barbosa added to Bermuda’s misery with a strike in the 82nd minute and set up defender David Tyrie four minutes later for the final tally.

On Sunday, however, it was a different story as Bermuda stunned the hosts with the opening salvo in the first half. But Barbosa proved the hero in the second half with the equalizer in the 69th minute, and the go-ahead goal just three minutes later. With a win in sight, the Pioneers had to settle for a draw, however, as Daman Ming hit a spoiler three minutes from time.

Barbosa moved up to fifth in the league table for goals with seven on the year and ranked tied for sixth in points with 15.

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