ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 12, 2019) — Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Pape Diakite has earned a spot in the USL Championship Team of the Week following his dominant performance in Saturday's season-opening win.

Try as it might, Memphis 901 FC couldn't find a way past Diakite all match. Diakite had an astonishing 13 clearances on the night, more than double Memphis' team total of six.

The full Team of the Week is below:
GK – Brendan Moore, ATL UTD 2: Moore recorded a six-save shutout as Atlanta opened its season with a 2-0 victory against Hartford Athletic.

D – Phanuel Kavita, Saint Louis FC: Kavita scored the game-tying goal and recorded six clearances as STLFC rallied for victory against Indy Eleven.

D – Papé Diakité, Tampa Bay Rowdies: The center back recorded 13 clearances, won 11 of 12 duels and 8 of 9 aerial duels as the Rowdies earned a road shutout in Memphis.

D – Alex Cooper, Fresno FC: Cooper recorded the assist on the Foxes’ goal, finished with three key passes overall and won 3 of 4 duels in Fresno’s 1-1 draw with New Mexico.

M – Zach Zandi, Bethlehem Steel FC: Zandi scored the second goal in Steel FC’s victory against Birmingham while also completing 37 of 42 passes in his professional debut.

M – Tommy McCabe, North Carolina FC: McCabe notched what proved to be the winner on his professional debut in NCFC’s 4-1 win against Louisville and completed 30 of 34 passes overall.

M – Shane Malcolm, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: Malcolm recorded the first hat trick of the 2019 season as the Switchbacks swept to a 4-1 win against the LA Galaxy II

M – Billy Forbes, San Antonio FC: Forbes scored a fine goal, recorded two key passes and completed 12 of 14 passes overall in SAFC’s 3-3 draw with Phoenix Rising FC.

F – Tom Barlow, New York Red Bulls II: Barlow struck twice as the Red Bulls II opened the season with a 3-1 win against the Swope Park Rangers

F – Deshorn Brown, OKC Energy FC: Brown scored the second-fastest goal in Championship history after just 12 seconds, then added a second in a 3-1 win against El Paso Locomotive FC.

F – Devon Sandoval, New Mexico United: Albuquerque native Sandoval scored the first goal in New Mexico’s history as the expansion side earned a 1-1 draw with Fresno FC.

Bench: David Ochoa (SLC), Jordan Burt (COS), Matt LaGrassa (NSH), Marcus Epps (NY), Shandon Hopeau (TAC), Marios Lomis (NC), Junior Flemmings (PHX)