Rowdies Goalie Named Player of the Week

Tampa Bay Rowdies Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo and Silverbacks' Joe Nasco both turned in spectacular performances in Week 6 of the NASL, which earned them a share of the North American Soccer League Player of the Week honors.

“I am happy for receiving this award and especially after picking up the win,” said Restrepo. “We owed the win to the fans and we were all excited that we were able to get the three points. It’s great to work alongside Andrew Fontein and (Goalkeeper Coach) Slobodan Janjus, who both push me to become a better goalkeeper day in and day out.”

During NASL Week 6, Venezuelan native Restrepo earned his second victory of the NASL Fall season as the Rowdies topped the visiting Carolina RailHawks 3-2 at St. Petersburg’s Al Lang Stadium. Restrepo made several one-on-one saves on Saturday that helped the Rowdies extend their unbeaten run to eight matches. RailHawks forward and current NASL Golden Boot leader Brian Shriver was denied his 13th goal of the season when Restrepo was able to cross the box and make a fantastic save to prevent an open net opportunity in the first half.

This is the second time Restrepo picks up the NASL Player of the Week award, with the first one coming after his 12-save performance against the Cosmos on August 10.

Prior to joining the Rowdies in March of 2013, the native of Merida, Venezuela played in Colombia for club powerhouse America de Cali in 2011.  Restrepo then played 2012 with one of Venezuela’s most popular clubs, Deportivo Tachira.

Atlanta's goalkeeper Nasco also earned the Player of the Week award after an excellent performance for Atlanta in Saturday's 1-1 draw in New York. The Cosmos were unable to extend their lead thanks to Nasco's saves, and Atlanta would end up scoring the game-tying goal in the second half.

Up next, the Rowdies will once again face the Carolina RailHawks next Saturday, this time at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC. Tampa Bay’s next home match will be the following Saturday, September 21 against the Atlanta Silverbacks at Al Lang Stadium. For ticket information, call (813) 287-1539 or click here.