PITTSBURGH (July 18, 2023) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC defender Mike DeShields was named to the first 11 of the USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 19, leading three Hounds players named in the league’s weekly honors announced this afternoon.
The center back was joined by teammates Burke Fahling and Albert Dikwa, both of whom were picked to the Team of the Week’s bench for performances in a week that saw the Hounds pick up two shutout wins over Eastern Conference rivals — 1-0 at Louisville and 2-0 at home over Detroit.
DeShields picked up his first assist as a member of the Hounds in the win over Detroit when he threaded a pass through defenders to set up Edward Kizza‘s opening goal. He also recorded 10 clearances and won 10 of 16 duels across the two matches, as he played the final 26 minutes to close out the win at Louisville and the full 90 against Detroit.
It is the first Team of the Week honor as a member of the Hounds for DeShields, who signed with the club prior to the 2023 season.
Fahling and Dikwa each scored goals last week to boost their claims to the bench spots.
Dikwa scored the only goal at Louisville and played 164 hard-working minutes in just his second and third matches back from a broken clavicle. Fahling, like DeShields, came off the bench with a big defensive effort to close out the Louisville win, and he scored from a free kick against Detroit as part of a Man of the Match two-way effort.
The Hounds are riding a 13-game unbeaten streak in USL Championship play, and they will put that on the line again in a big Eastern Conference clash on the road at the Charleston Battery on Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m.
