PLAYER OF THE WEEK | Indy Midfielder Victor Pineda
Indy Eleven midfielder Victor Pineda scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner in second-half stoppage time, to help Tim Regan earn a victory in his first match as the club’s interim head coach on Saturday night. Pineda’s performance in the 2-1 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers earned him North American Soccer League (NASL) Player of the Week honors on Monday.
"I'm really happy for the team,” Pineda said. “Last week was a very emotional one for the squad, and I think we deserved a result on Saturday because of the hard work we've all been putting in. A lot of things haven't been going our way lately, so I think the win in Fort Lauderdale will serve as a turning point for the group."
With his team down a goal late in the first half, Pineda curled a well-placed shot past Strikers goalkeeper Josh Ford in the 44th minute, leveling the score heading into halftime.
At the tail end of a hard-fought second half, the match looked destined to finish as a draw, but a blast into the corner of the net by Pineda clinched all three points for the visitors. The play was set up by a long, driving run by substitute forward Duke Lacroix, who then squared a ball that ended up at the feet of Pineda. The ensuing shot from the U.S. youth international was perfectly placed and left Ford with absolutely no chance.
"Victor had an injury that slowed him down for the first month of the season, but he has been returning to form over the last few weeks,” said Regan, who took the helm last week after Juergen Sommer was relieved of his head coaching duties. “On Saturday night, he showed the tremendous work rate and technical ability that we're all used to seeing out of him, and the goals he scored were a great reward for him personally and obviously for the team as well."
Pineda joined Indy Eleven in 2014, coming over to the club on loan from the Chicago Fire. The 22-year-old midfielder made the move permanent in 2015, signing a contract with Indy prior to the season. The Bolingbrook, Ill., native, who was the Fire’s first homegrown player signing, has made youth national team appearances for the U.S. at the U-17, U-18, U-20, and U-23 levels.
