PITTSBURGH (July 16, 2024) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC left back Junior Etou is the USL Championship’s Player of the Week, presented by Konami eFootball, for Week 19 of the season, the league announced this afternoon.
Etou sparked the Hounds to the their largest margin of victory in three years, scoring twice in the team’s 5-0 victory Saturday over Oakland Roots SC. He opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing after receiving a Bradley Sample pass that ended an excellent team move forward, and he added the game’s final goal by pouncing on a bouncing ball in the box for an unassisted strike.
It was the first two-goal game in the career of Etou, the 30-year-old midfielder/defender who hails from Paris and is in his second season with the Hounds. His all-around performance included winning six of seven duels for the ball, three clearances, three fouls won and 41 total touches on the ball, one off the team high in the match.
“It’s a good feeling,” Etou said after Saturday’s match. “It’s been six, seven, eight games, our last win was two months ago, so I think it’s a great night for everyone. I’m so happy to score two goals tonight, but for me, the most important thing is the team. Other people can score. We just need to keep working and keep pushing to try to win every game.”
It is the first Player of the Week honor for Etou, who won the honor with 45 percent of the vote of the USL’s National Media Panel. He finished ahead of a pair of players with Pittsburgh connections that tied for second — Rhode Island FC and former Hounds striker Albert Dikwa, and FC Tulsa and former Pitt goalkeeper Johan Peñaranda.
Etou also heads up the USL Championship Team of the Week in his second appearance of the season there, and the Hounds are well-represented with midfielder Bradley Sample and center back Sean Suber each in the starting 11, midfielder Robbie Mertz on the bench, and coach Bob Lilley earning the Coach of the Week honor. For Sample and Suber, it is the first time each has made the Team of the Week.
Sample, a first-year pro, recorded the first two assists of his career by setting up Etou’s first goal and serving the cross that led to Suber’s headed goal just before halftime. He also connected on 21 of 27 passes, including all five of his long passes, and he won the ball six times against Oakland.
Suber, a second-year pro in his first year with the Hounds, scored his first professional goal from Sample’s cross. He was 4-for-4 winning aerial duels, and he added three clearances marshaling the Hounds’ back line to a shutout.
Mertz earned his bench spot after converting from the penalty spot against Oakland and playing a major role in the build-up of Etou’s first goal. Lilley, the reigning Championship Coach of the Year, claims his first weekly coaching honor since the league introduced the award this season.
To see the full USL Championship Team of the Week, visit uslchampionship.com.
The Hounds are back in action this Saturday, July 20, when they host Hartford Athletic at 8 p.m. at Highmark Stadium in a match that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
