Ihsan Sacko’s brace against Las Vegas earned him Team of the Week honors
The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 32 of the 2026 regular season today, with Rising forward Ihsan Sacko earning an spot in the starting lineup for his standout performance against Las Vegas Lights. This is Sacko’s sixth time this season receiving this honor. Not only that, Pa-Modou Kah was named Coach of the Week following the 3-2 win at 38th & Washington.
Ihsan Sacko now has 14 goals on the season, tied for second in the league and two behind the Golden Boot leader. His first came in the 24th minute, chasing down a ball over the top from Jean Eric Moursou before cutting inside his defender and finishing at the near post. He doubled his tally from the penalty spot in the 54th minute after a foul on Gunnar Studenhofft. Head coach Pa-Modou Kah was also named Coach of the Week after leading Rising to a crucial victory that kept the club’s playoff hopes alive with two matches remaining in the regular season.
“I think it’s great, I think he’s well deserving. Obviously coming off two goals you’re always going to put yourself into the picture,” Kah said. “The crazy part with him is in every game that he plays, he’s always has 1 or 2 moments where he can be decisive. And again, he took his chances very well. So, you can you can tell for him it was about time.”
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 32
GK – Kendall McIntosh, Oakland Roots SC: McIntosh recorded a key penalty kick save as part of a three-save shutout against San Antonio FC to keep Roots’ chances of reaching the USL Championship Playoffs alive in a scoreless draw on Saturday night.
D – Owen Mikoy, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: The 24-year old recorded 16 clearances, won 10 of 11 aerial duels and 3 of 3 ground duels and made three recoveries to help Pittsburgh earn a 2-1 victory against Hartford Athletic to seal its ninth consecutive postseason berth.
D – Kevon Lambert, Louisville City FC: The Jamaican international again stood tall defensively winning 11 of 12 duels – including 6 of 7 aerial duels – while making 14 clearances and completed 39 of 44 passes in LouCity’s 2-0 victory on the road against the Charleston Battery.
D – Talen Maples, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: Maples scored Colorado Springs’ goal in a 1-1 draw against Sacramento Republic FC and completed 37 of 43 passes while making five clearances, five recoveries and winning 7 of 10 duels at Heart Health Park.
M – Charlie Dennis, New Mexico United: Dennis scored a pair of goals to lead New Mexico to a 3-1 victory against Monterey Bay FC and completed 25 of 28 passes overall while notching four shots and one chance created and winning 3 of 4 duels.
M – Charles Ahl, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Ahl scored the game-winning goal in Pittsburgh 2-1 victory against Hartford Athletic to secure the Hounds’ playoff berth and had four shots and two chances created overall while completing 24 of 30 passes and winning 5 of 8 ground duels.
M – Sebastian Cruz, Tampa Bay Rowdies: The 26-year-old scored what proved to be the game-winner in the Rowdies’ 3-1 win against Indy Eleven while completing 59 of 68 passes, winning 3 of 3 ground duels and making five recoveries at Michael A. Carroll Stadium.
M – Ricky Ruiz, El Paso Locomotive FC: Ruiz recorded one assist and two chances created while completing 42 of 50 passes overall in Locomotive’s 2-1 win at home to Orange County SC while winning 13 of 16 duels defensively at Southwest University Park.
F – Niall Reid-Stephen, New Mexico United: The Barbados international recorded two assists and had five chances created overall in New Mexico’s 3-1 win against Monterey Bay FC while completing 24 of 27 passes and making five recoveries and two interceptions defensively.
F – Eddy Davis III, Loudoun United FC: Davis scored both goals as Loudoun United ended Miami FC’s four-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory as he recorded four shots, recorded eight touches in the attacking box and won 7 of 7 duels while completing 9 of 13 passes overall.
F – Ihsan Sacko, Phoenix Rising FC: The French forward scored a pair of goals and put all three of his shots on target while completing 15 of 16 passes and making three recoveries in Rising’s 3-2 victory against Las Vegas Lights FC.
Coach – Pa-Modou Kah, Phoenix Rising FC: Kah’s squad earned victory to keep its chances of reaching the postseason alive with a 3-2 victory against Las Vegas Lights FC that saw the side record 11 of 15 shots inside the penalty area.
Bench – Joey Batrouni (SA), Luca Piras (LDN), Jacob Greene (LEX), Sebastian Lletget (MB), James Murphy (LDN), Amando Moreno (ELP), Greg Hurst (NM)
