TAMPA, Fla. – The USL announced on Thursday the five nominees for the USL Player of the Month award for March, with top performers from the opening month of the 2018 season selected for the ballot.

Voting in the USL Player of the Month Award will be conducted by the following three voting bodies:

• A fan vote on USLSoccer.com will comprise 51 percent of the poll. The fan vote will run through Monday, April 9 at 9 a.m. ET.
• The USL Technical Committee’s ballots comprise 25 percent of the poll.
• The USL National Media Panel’s ballots comprise 24 percent of the poll.

The award winner and complete voting results will be announced on Thursday, April 12.

Please note: The USL Player of the Month selections process in no way is tied directly to the voting and selection process of End of the Year awards such as USL MVP or position players of the year.

2018 USL Player of the Month Nominees – March

• Solomon Asante, M, Phoenix Rising FC – The young Ghanaian opened the season on a three-game goal-scoring streak to help Phoenix post a 2-0-1 record, with his outstanding strike that led off Rising FC’s 4-0 win against OKC Energy FC landing on the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10.
   
• Kharlton Belmar, F, Swope Park Rangers – The standout striker recorded four goals and two assists in three games to start the new season where he left off in 2017 for the Rangers, earning Player of the Week honors in Week 1 while leading Swope Park to back-to-back victories to kick off the new campaign.
   
• Thomas Enevoldsen, F, Orange County SC – The former Danish international made an immediate impact with his new club as he scored four goals in four games to start the season. The USL Player of the Week in Week 3, Enevoldsen also recorded one assist and eight key passes in March.
   
• Jorge Herrera, M, Charlotte Independence – The ageless Colombian led the Independence to their best start in club history with four goals in three games, which helped put Charlotte on top of the Eastern Conference with a 2-0-1 record.
   
• Evan Newton, GK, FC Cincinnati – Newton led Cincinnati to a 2-0-0 start to the season with 10 saves over two shutout performances on the road. Included in those shutouts was a tremendous double-save off a penalty kick against Indy Eleven to deny Jack McInerney and Ben Speas.