TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 6 of the 2024 regular season on Tuesday, with Charleston Battery forward Nick Markanich voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after he notched three goals and one assist across two victories against Louisville City FC and Indy Eleven that maintained the Battery’s undefeated start to the season and moved the side to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Currently in his second season with the Battery, Markanich has made a sparkling start to the campaign. A nominee for the Championship’s Player of the Month award in March, the 24-year-old moved into second in the race for the Golden Boot after a standout week for the defending Eastern Conference title holders. Markanich first notched a pair of first-half goals as the Battery ended Louisville City FC’s perfect start to the season last Tuesday night with a 3-2 win at Patriots Point.

He then bagged a highlight-reel finish and an assist as Charleston rallied for a 4-2 win against Indy Eleven at Michael A. Carroll Stadium. A native of Bourbonnais, Ill. who competed collegiately for Northern Illinois University, Markanich had numerous friends and family in the crowd that had made the trip for the game, making the goal and the result all the sweeter.

“It’s always nice to have family there, it was awesome,” said Markanich following the game. “After I scored, I made sure they knew it was for them. I had 30 or so [family and friends] from both Illinois and Indiana [in the stands].”

Markanich earned 83 percent of the ballot to claim the award. The Tampa Bay Rowdies’ Cal Jennings and Oakland Roots SC’s Johnny Rodriguez each received eight percent after each scoring twice in their respective club’s victories over the weekend, with Jennings leading Tampa Bay to a 5-2 result against Miami FC and Rodriguez rallying Oakland to a 3-2 victory against El Paso Locomotive FC.

The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.

GK – Jackson Lee, Rhode Island FC: The Australian earned a second consecutive selection as he posted a three-save shutout that included a key double-save in the second half to earn RIFC a 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

D – Carlos Guzman, Monterey Bay F.C.: The Mexican veteran notched a pair of assists in Monterey Bay’s 3-1 victory against Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday night while completing 56 of 67 passes and winning 4 of 4 tackles and 9 of 15 overall duels.

D – John Stenberg, Phoenix Rising FC: The Swedish center back scored the only goal in Phoenix’s 1-0 victory against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and was solid defensively, winning 3 of 3 tackles and 4 of 4 aerial duels.

D – Kwame Awuah, Loudoun United FC: The Canadian recorded the assist on Loudoun’s opening goal and completed 29 of 38 passes overall while making seven recoveries, three interceptions and winning 5 of 9 duels.

M – Blake Bodily, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Bodily recorded a goal and assist in the Rowdies’ 5-2 victory against Miami FC on Thursday night and notched three chances created while completing 24 of 29 passes overall.

M – Rodrigo Lopez, Sacramento Republic FC: The veteran midfielder scored his first goal of the season and had five shots and two chances created while completing 78 of 93 passes in Sacramento’s 1-1 draw against FC Tulsa on Saturday night.

M – Florian Valot, Loudoun United FC: The French veteran provided the assist on Loudoun’s game-winning goal and had two chances created overall while completing 56 of 66 passes, winning 3 of 3 tackles and making 14 recoveries defensively.

M – Emilio Ycaza, Charleston Battery: Ycaza played the full 180 minutes across Charleston’s two victories on the week and had a goal and assist in the side’s win at Indy Eleven while recording seven chances created across the two games.

F – Johnny Rodriguez, Oakland Roots SC: Rodriguez scored a pair of goals in the opening six minutes of the second half to rally Roots to a 3-2 victory against El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday night and become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.

F – Cal Jennings, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Jennings scored a pair of goals and hit the woodwork in Tampa Bay’s 5-2 victory against in-state rival Miami FC on Thursday night while recording six shots and three shots on target overall.

F – Nick Markanich, Charleston Battery: The 24-year-old continued his stellar start to the season, recording three goals and one assist while recording seven shots and four shots on target across victories against Louisville City FC and Indy Eleven to keep the Battery undefeated.

Coach – Ben Pirmann, Charleston Battery: Pirmann’s side picked an impressive victory against Louisville City FC in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2023 USL Championship Playoffs and capped the week with victory on the road at Indy Eleven.

Bench: Duran Ferree (OC), Niall Logue (OAK), Patrick Seagrist (TUL), Ezra Armstrong (NC), Memo Diaz (OAK), Joshua Perez (TBR), MD Myers (CHS)