Week #24 NASL Players of the Week: Ty Shipalane & Anthony Vázquez

MIAMI, Fla. (Sept 17, 2012) –

Carolina RailHawks Midfielder Ty Shipalane was named NASL Offensive Player of the Week the league announced Tuesday. Shipalane was honored for his performance on Sunday against the San Antonio Scorpions. Shipalane scored the game-winning goal in the 69th minute as well as his contributions the previous Wednesday in a 2-2 tie at Edmonton.  On Wednesday, the South African assisted Nick Zimmerman’s opening goal of the game in the fifth minute.

Shipalane created trouble for the San Antonio defense much of the evening with his speed and dribbling ability. He led the RailHawks with five shots on the night. The game winner came in the 69th minute after  Shipalane received a through ball from Floyd Franks. After receiving the pass, Shipalane took one touch and dribbled past Scorpions goalkeeper Darryl Sattler and finished the opportunity.

Shipalane has established himself as an explosive offensive threat in the 2012 season with four goals and five assists on the NASL season. All four goals have been game winning or game tying goals. He also scored the game-winning goal versus the MLS Champion LA Galaxy in the US Open Cup Third Round.

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Puerto Rico Islanders Defender Anthony Vázquez has been named North American Soccer League Defenisve Player of the Week.

Vázquez scored a goal off a set piece delivery from David Foley this past Saturday in a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Stars. He had missed the Wednesday meeting  with the Stars due to international duty.

“Congratulations to our Puerto Rican national team player Anthony Vázquez for gaining the honor of Player of the Week.  He doesn’t say too much, but comes in every day to listen and improve. This reward is well deserved, ” said Head Coach Adrian Whitbread.

The Puerto Rican international is in his rookie year after a stellar college career with the Monmouth College Hawks. Vázquez has also been a consistent member of the Puerto Rican National that recently  was involved in second round qualifying for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Vázquez started all three games of Puerto Rico’s recent qualifying campaign. Vázquez has played 1468 minutes this season, the fourth most on Islanders team this year, becoming a regular selection on the backline.