Pacheco Nets Player of the Week Honors
MAC Men's Soccer Player of the Week
Diogo Pacheco, Akron
MF/F, R-Sophomore, Lisbon, Portugal
Akron redshirt sophomore Diogo Pacheco turned in a breakout game in the Zips’ 4-3 come-from-behind overtime victory at VCU registering his first career hat trick, including netting the golden goal in the 94th minute (93:55). Playing in only his third collegiate contest, Pacheco garnered the game-winning tally off a pair of assists from senior Morgan Hackworth and junior Marcel Zajac. Hackworth headed a ball in the box wide to Zajac, who redirected the ball back into the box to Pacheco, who found the corner of the net to extend the Zips’ winning streak to three with the overtime victory. Trailing 2-1 in the second half, Pacheco netted the equalizer knocking in his third goal of the season on a ball served into the box off a corner kick from redshirt junior Skye Harter at the 67:15 mark. A mere 10 seconds later at the 67:25 mark, Pacheco struck again giving the Zips a 3-2 lead with his second goal of the evening. Akron capped the comeback with Pacheco’s game-winner at the 93:55 mark on the Zips’ lone shot in overtime. On the season, Pacheco is ranked second on the team in goals (5) and points (10) and third in shots on goal (5).
Other Nominees
Ryan Kellogg, West Virginia
Defender, Junior, Parkville, Mo (Park Hill South HS)
WVU junior defender Ryan Kellogg both goals to lead West Virginia to a 2-0 victory over Delaware on Saturday night. Kellogg had his first career multi-goal game while leading the Mountaineers to their fourth shutout of the season. In the win, Kellogg led the team with three shots and two shots on goal. His two goals doubles his career total, to four, and he has three in 2018. Kellogg’s first goal came in the 62nd minute, and his second came less than 10 minutes later, in the 71st. His game-winning goal was the second of his career. Defensively, Kellogg helped limit Delaware to just three shots on goal.
Paul Liagre, Western Michigan
Midfield, Junior, Saint Ouen Sur Iton, France
Junior Paul Liagre helped Western Michigan improve its unbeaten streak to six games, tallying three assists in two games. On Wednesday versus Detroit Mercy, Liagre picked up two assists in the 2-1 win for a season-high. On Saturday versus the University of Pacific, Liagre recorded an assist for the fourth-straight game in the 1-1 draw. He leads the Broncos with five helpers on the season.
Tate Robertson, Bowling Green
Midfielder, Senior, Springfield, Ohio (Catholic Central)
Bowling Green senior midfielder Tate Robertson scored both BG goals in the Falcons’ lone match of the week, a 2-1 victory over Valparaiso at Cochrane Stadium. The multiple-goal match was the first of his career. The two goals came just over seven minutes apart, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead with 17 minutes elapsed. On the season, Robertson leads the Falcons with nine points on the two goals and a team-high five assists. He has been involved in the scoring of seven of the Falcons’ 10 goals this season to date. He now has 28 career points on six goals and 16 assists, leading all active Falcons in the latter category
