TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship today announced that Detroit City FC forward Darren Smith has been voted USL Championship Player of the Month presented by Konami eFootball with a league-leading five goals.
After playing professionally in his native South Africa, along with Finland and Morocco, the 29-year-old forward has enjoyed a stellar start to his first season in the United States. Smith recorded five goals across the USL Championship and USL Jägermeister Cup in Detroit's undefeated April, averaging a goal every 54 minutes as he scored on five of six shots over the month, an 83.3% conversion rate.
Smith started the month by helping Detroit to a scoreless draw against Monterey Bay before leading Le Rouge to three consecutive victories across league and USL Jägermeister Cup play. The South African sparked Detroit's improbable 3-2 comeback in Phoenix with a two-minute brace off the bench in the closing minutes, tallied a second consecutive two-minute brace to guide Detroit to victory against Rhode Island and closed the month out with a winner in second-half stoppage time against Pittsburgh in Detroit's inaugural USL Jägermeister Cup match.
Smith earned 43% of a weighted poll that included the USL Championship Technical Committee, a national panel of independent media representing every USL market and an online fan vote held at USLChampionship.com. Charleston Battery forward MD Myers and Monterey Bay FC goalkeeper Nico Campuzano finished tied for second on 28%, as Myers posted three goals and one assist in three appearances for the Battery and Campuzano tallied 17 saves and two clean sheets for the Crisp and Kelp.
Nominee | Fan Vote | Weight | Media Vote | Weight | USL Vote | Weight | Total Vote |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Darren Smith (DET) | 7% | 4% | 80% | 19% | 80% | 20% | 43% |
MD Myers (CHS) | 45% | 23% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 5% | 28% |
Nico Campuzano (MB) | 45% | 23% | 20% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 28% |
Peter Wilson (OAK) | 3% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% |