TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship announced on Sunday its first official awards for the 2023 regular season as Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s Albert Dikwa claimed the Golden Boot after a career season that led the Hounds to the USL Championship’s Players’ Shield.

Dikwa’s award was accompanied by Sacramento Republic FC goalkeeper Danny Vitiello claiming the Golden Glove for the second time in his career, while San Antonio FC’s Jorge Hernandez earned the Golden Playmaker award as the league’s assists leader in the regular season.

Now in his fourth season with the Hounds, Dikwa led the Championship with 20 goals, almost doubling his career total for regular season goals in the process. The Cameroonian forward notched the first hat trick of his career in his second game of the campaign in March, which provided the launchpad for an outstanding campaign that also included five two-goal performances as Pittsburgh ended the regular season on top of the Eastern Conference with the best record in the league.

Vitiello claimed the Golden Glove for the second time – having previously won the award in 2020 for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC – as he backed the stingiest defense in the Championship this season. The 27-year-old posted a Goals-Against Average of 0.83 while posting 11 shutouts, tied for third in the league, as Sacramento finished in first place in the Western Conference. Vitiello recorded a save percentage of 76.2 percent across 30 appearances, the highest of any goalkeeper eligible for the award.

Hernandez earned the Golden Playmaker award after recording 10 assists in 1,905 minutes, edging out Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s Kenardo Forbes on the minutes-per-assist tiebreaker. A 2021 USL Championship All-League First Team selection previously in his career, the 22-year-old joined San Antonio in April from Belgian club KV Mechelen and made a sterling impact, ranking ninth in the league with 55 chances created as San Antonio led the Championship with 63 goals in the regular season.

All three players are set to feature in the upcoming 2023 USL Championship Playoffs, which kick off this Saturday night with the Eastern and Western Conference Quarterfinals. Full details of the bracket, hosting priority for the 2023 USL Championship Final, and schedule for the opening weekend of games can be found here.

The 2023 USL Championship Golden Boot, Golden Glove and Assists Champion are the opening three awards that will be presented by the league this year. The Championship’s Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and the USL Championship All-League Teams will be announced in November.