Birmingham Legion FC's Enzo Martinez became the fifth player to surpass 100 combined goals and assists in the USL Championship's regular season history this past Sunday evening. | Photo courtesy Birmingham Legion FC
There are few players who have had the impact in the USL Championship that Enzo Martinez has in his career. Now he’s achieved a pair of landmarks that show how he’s set himself apart.
We’ve got much more on that in the latest edition of the Championship’s News & Notes, plus why Joshua Dolling’s weekend display for New Mexico United offered a single-game rarity, the end of one of the Championship’s all-time shutout streaks, and a notable landmark for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Head Coach Bob Lilley.
As always, we’ve also got our eye on upcoming historic landmarks for the league’s players, and a very well-mannered Discipline Report.
Let’s dig in.
LEGION FC’S ENZO MARTINEZ HITS NOTABLE LANDMARKS
Birmingham Legion FC’s Enzo Martinez was voted the USL Championship’s Player of the Week for Week 8 of the season on Tuesday after a vintage performance that carried him past a pair of notable landmarks in his career. Martinez’s first of two goals in a 3-2 win against Hartford Athletic made him the fifth player to record a combined 100 goals and assists in the Championship’s regular season, while his assist on Alex Crognale’s stoppage-time game-winner was his 40th assist in the league’s regular season.
The 32-year-old is now the only player in Championship history to have recorded at least 60 regular season goals and 40 regular season assists. He is also currently one of two players to sit in the Championship’s regular season all-time top 10 in both goals and assists alongside Colombian legend Jorge Herrera (72 goals, 35 assists).
Most Combined Regular Season Goals & Assists in USL Championship
1. Dane Kelly – 132 (106 goals & 26 assists)
2. Jorge Herrera – 107 (72 goals & 35 assists)
T-3. Hadji Barry – 103 (79 goals & 24 assists)
T-3. Corey Hertzog – 103 (74 goals & 29 assists)
5. Enzo Martinez – 102 (62 goals & 40 assists)
NEW MEXICO’S JOSHUA DOLLING JOINS THREE-ASSISTS CLUB
New Mexico United’s Joshua Dolling became the first player in club history to record three assists in a single game on Saturday night to play a key role in the club’s 3-1 victory against Orange County SC at Isotopes Park. The 25-year-old also became the 25th player in the Championship’s history to accomplish the feat in the regular season, with New Mexico becoming the 21st club to have a player on the list.
A player recording three assists in a game has proven much rarer in the Championship’s history than a player recording a hat trick, with 112 hat tricks having been recorded in the league’s regular season, a ratio of 4.5 hat tricks to one three-assist outing. Last season the feat was recorded only once, by Indy Eleven’s Solomon Asante, who is one of three players alongside current Las Vegas Lights FC forward Emmanuel Ledesma and former player Jose Barril to have accomplished the feat twice in their careers in the league.
REPUBLIC FC SHUTOUT STREAK ENDS AT 594 MINUTES
Sacramento Republic FC goalkeeper Danny Vitiello and his side saw its shutout streak come to an end after 594 minutes against FC Tulsa, but Vitiello still sports a 0.25 goals-against average so far this season. | Photo courtesy Victor Schwanke / FC Tulsa
Sacramento Republic FC saw a remarkable 594-minute shutout streak come to an end on Saturday evening in the club’s 1-1 draw against FC Tulsa as the club missed out on its sixth consecutive clean sheet due to Moses Dyer’s 76th-minute equalizer for the hosts at ONEOK Field.
Sacramento had not conceded in league play since its second game of the season, also a 1-1 draw against the Charleston Battery at Heart Health Park on March 18. The club’s run earned it the seventh-longest shutout streak in the Championship’s regular season while standing as the longest in Republic FC history.
Longest Shutout Streaks in the USL Championship Regular Season
1. Tampa Bay Rowdies (2021) – 891 minutes
2. Rio Grande Valley FC (2016) – 759 minutes
3. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (2019) – 698 minutes
4. San Antonio FC (2017) – 672 minutes
5. Ottawa Fury FC (2018) – 636 minutes
6. Birmingham Legion FC (2019) – 624 minutes
7. Sacramento Republic FC (2023) – 594 minutes
8. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (2018) – 575 minutes
9. Rochester Rhinos (2012) – 568 minutes
10. Monterey Bay F.C. (2022) – 558 minutes
RIVERHOUNDS SC’S BOB LILLEY REACHES NOTABLE LANDMARK
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC's Bob Lilley has accumulated the most regular season wins as a Head Coach in USL Championship history, with this past weekend marking his 300th regular season game in the league. | Photo courtesy Mallory Neil / Pittsburgh Riverho
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Head Coach Bob Lilley was on the sidelines for his 300th regular season game in the USL Championship’s history on Saturday as the Hounds played to a 1-1 draw with Indy Eleven, making the legendary coach the first to reach that landmark in the league’s history.
The 2015 Championship Coach of the Year with the Rochester Rhinos – whom he led to the Championship’s Players’ Shield and USL Championship title while losing just once during the season – Lilley has accumulated a record of 146-63-91 across his tenures with the Rhinos and the Hounds. The 57-year-old, who celebrated his latest birthday on Tuesday, has recorded the most coaching victories in the Championship’s regular season with a winning percentage of 48.7 percent.
Lilley’s coaching career extends far beyond the Championship’s history, however, having first entered the professional ranks in 1997 with the USL A-League’s Hershey Wildcats. Since then, he has accumulated 324 regular season wins in outdoor professional soccer while never seeing one of his sides miss a postseason. He is currently the longest-tenured Head Coach in the Championship after joining the Hounds prior to the 2018 campaign.
Most Head Coaching Wins in USL Championship History
1. Bob Lilley – 146
2. Mike Anhaeuser – 130
3. John Wolyniec – 88
4. Leigh Cowlishaw – 85
5. Mike Jeffries – 81
Hartford Athletic's Danny Barrera could make his 200th regular season appearance in the USL Championship on Saturday when the side hosts Memphis 901 FC at Trinity Health Stadium. | Photo courtesy Hartford Athletic
Appearances
Approaching 200 regular-season appearances
Danny Barrera (HFD) – 199
Justin Portillo (NM) – 196
Approaching 150 regular-season appearances
Aaron Guillen (TBR) – 149
Duke Lacroix (COS) – 149
Lucky Mkosana (TBR) – 148
Matt LaGrassa (SAC) – 146
Approaching 100 regular-season appearances
Sam Gleadle (MB) – 99
Joe Kuzminsky (COS) – 98
Aidan Apodaca (CHS) – 97
Collin Martin (SD) – 97
Nick Ross (SAC) – 97
Minutes
Approaching 20,000 regular-season minutes
Josh Suggs (NM) – 19,723
Approaching 15,000 regular-season minutes
Brent Richards (OC) – 14,819
James Musa (COS) – 14,639
Approaching 10,000 regular-season minutes
Mark Segbers (MIA) – 9,941
Alex Crognale (BHM) – 9,670
Goals
Approaching 75 regular season goals
Neco Brett (BHM) – 72
Approaching 50 regular-season goals
Lucky Mkosana (TBR) – 48
Assists
Approaching 50 regular season assists
Aodhan Quinn (IND) – 49
Solomon Asante (IND) – 48
Approaching 30 regular season assists
Oscar Jimenez (LOU) – 29
Justin Portillo (NM) – 28
Niall McCabe (LOU) – 27
Charlie Adams (SD) – 27
Saves
Approaching 300 regular season saves
Connor Sparrow (TBR) – 289
Shutouts
Approaching 40 regular-season shutouts
Matt VanOekel (BHM) – 38
Approaching 30 regular-season shutouts
Joe Kuzminsky (COS) – 29
Danny Vitiello (SAC) – 27
TAMPA, Fla. – The following is the USL Championship’s discipline report for Week 9 of the 2023 USL Championship season:
There are no new suspensions to report.
Tag(s): Features San Antonio FC CO Spring Switchbacks Orange County SC Phoenix Rising FC Rio Grande Valley FC Sacramento Republic FC FC Tulsa Charleston Battery Louisville City FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds Tampa Bay Rowdies Las Vegas Lights FC Birmingham Legion FC Indy Eleven Memphis 901 FC El Paso Locomotive FC New Mexico United Loudoun United FC Hartford Athletic San Diego Loyal SC Miami FC Oakland Roots SC Detroit City FC Monterey Bay F.C.