Mamadou Dieng has been named USL Championship Player of the Week after scoring two goals in last week’s 4-0 win over New Mexico United. The Senegalese forward also became the club’s all-time leading scorer (19 goals) in just his second season in Green and Blue.
Dieng’s speed and technical ability were on full display in Hartford’s dominant performance.
Within the first 20 minutes of the match, he received the ball outside the 18-yard box from Marlon Hairston. The crafty forward beat his defender with a double stepover, and fired off a powerful right-footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Just six minutes later, Dieng saw the opportunity to net another when a New Mexico defender made a pass back to the goalkeeper. Hartford’s #9 took off at pace and intercepted the ball, took a touch past the keeper’s outstretched leg and calmly walked the ball into the back of the net.
Mamadou hit the crossbar two other times in the match, leaving him inches shy of his first hat trick.
Dieng is the second player this season to earn Player of the Week honors, joining midfielder Samuel Careaga who won Player of the Round after a two goal performance against Westchester SC in the second round of the USL Jägermeister Cup.
Dieng will be in action tomorrow night as Hartford Athletic takes on Miami FC in a match with huge playoff implications. With a win, Hartford will jump into the playoff places. Tickets are on sale now at hartfordathletic.com.
