Week #22 NASL Players of the Week: Matt Horth & Frankie Sanfilippo

MIAMI, Fla. (Sept 4, 2012)

Atlanta Silverbacks forward Matt Horth has been named North American Soccer League Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.

The 6-foot-3 forward tallied a pair of goals in the Silverbacks’ 2-0 win over FC Edmonton Sunday afternoon at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta. The two goals brought Horth’s total to eight for the season, matching his goal output from his rookie season in 2011. He holds the fourth highest goal total in the league this year, tied with Puerto Rico’s Nicholas Addlery and Fort Lauderdale’s Andy Herron.

“It’s always a lot of fun to score goals, but the most important thing is that we got the win and did it with a complete team effort,” Horth said. “On the goals, I got great service from Danny Barrera and Shane Moroney, and it’s certainly a special feeling when you can get a couple goals in any game.”

The Akron, Ohio native joined the Silverbacks in 2011 after a successful four-year career at Gordon College (Mass.). He has tallied 16 goals and two assists in 45 appearances for the club, and has the opportunity to improve on his goal total from last year with four games remaining in 2012.

“It’s always good to see a player rewarded for his hard work. We ask Matt to do a lot of different things for our team and he does well every time,” said Silverbacks head coach Brian Haynes. “He had a great game on Sunday, displaying some opportunistic finishing, and he’s a big reason why we were able to leave Edmonton with three points.”

Sunday’s game marked the third time Horth has recorded two goals in a single game, following up braces against the Montreal Impact and Puerto Rico Islanders last season.

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Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Frankie Sanfilippo has been named the North American Soccer League Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, the league announced on Tuesday. The Rowdies’ Captain was previously named Defensive Player of the Week on May 29 and on July 23.

“I want to thank my teammates for helping me get this award,” said Sanfilippo. “Our back four, including goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, have been very sharp and it was shown on Saturday where we had our second straight shutout. We want to continue winning and hopefully we get to the end of the season in the position to have that first-round bye.”

Sanfilippo scored the second goal of the night last Saturday in the 3-0 win against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at Lockhart Stadium. His goal helped the Rowdies clinch a playoff spot, as well as the Rowdies third consecutive Coastal Cup, which is awarded to the annual winner of the Tampa Bay-Fort Lauderdale series. The goal was the defender’s second of the season and third since his arrival to the Rowdies in 2011. The San Diego, California native also had an excellent defensive performance, captaining the Rowdies to their ninth shutout of the year.

“I would like to congratulate Sanfilippo on his third NASL Defensive Player of the Week award this season,” said Rowdies head coach Ricky Hill. “I was very pleased with his performance on Saturday night, adding another goal to his career. He has been playing at a very consistent level throughout the season and it has been shown on the pitch, where he always looks to help his teammates.”

Sanfilippo, who has started all 24 games, is tied for first in the NASL with 2,160 minutes played. The honor marks the 10th time this season a Tampa Bay player has received a weekly NASL offensive or defensive award, the most for any team in the league in 2012.