With just two weeks left in the regular season, players were still working hard to either drive their team into the playoffs or leave a great impression on the league going into the off-season. For their efforts, club coaches and operators chose an Oly Town striker and Yakima’s goalkeeper as their Players Of The Week.
OFFENSIVE: The Oly Town Artesians’ Jason Fairhurst scored the game’s opening goal and what proved to be the game winner in the second half in their 3-2 win over the Tri-Cities Alliance on Saturday in Olympia. The Saint Martin’s forward has been fantastic for the Artesians this season scoring three goals in EPLWA play while breaking down defenses and setting up opportunities for others. The Snohomish native has also been instrumental in the Artesians’ run to the Washington State Super Cup with a pair of goals and also scored a goal against Oly in a preseason game for the Saints.
DEFENSIVE: Yakima United goalkeeper Luis Birrueta had a fantastic game on Sunday facing a Tri-Cities team that was hungry for their first victory of the season. Both teams played the day before and Yakima’s back line was tired from a difficult game against Seattle 24 hours earlier. The Bellevue College product stayed composed and fended off the Alliance’s attack to pick up a hard fought 1-1 draw at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco. The Yakima native has two shutouts this season leading the Hoppers to a 3-4-2 record going into the season finale.
Other nominees:
Offensive: Richard Henderson (Bellingham United)
Defensive: None
Evergreen Premier League 