PLAYER OF THE WEEK | San Francisco Deltas Midfielder Cristian Portilla
The left foot of San Francisco Deltas midfielder Cristian Portilla propelled the club to its first victory away from Kezar Stadium. The Spanish veteran was named NASL Player of the Week on Monday after assisting on both goals in the Deltas’ 2-1 win over North Carolina FC at Sahlen’s Stadium on Saturday night.
Portilla hasn’t wasted any time showing the rest of the league how dangerous he can be from set pieces. The 28-year-old midfielder sent in a perfect corner kick that found the head of defender Reiner Ferreira for the opening goal in the 22nd minute on Saturday night.
One minute after Billy Schuler equalized for the hosts, Portilla did it again, whipping in a beautiful free kick for teammate Jackson to nod home in the 86th minute. The former La Liga midfielder was extremely active all game long, creating a team-high five scoring chances and completing 36 of his 42 passes during his 90-minute shift. San Francisco moved back up to third place with its result in Week 7.
A native of Santander, Spain, Portilla joined the Deltas in January. The well-traveled midfielder, who is a product of the Racing Santander youth system, has played top-division soccer in Spain, Greece, Hungary, and Cyprus.
Portilla and the Deltas remain on the road this upcoming weekend, traveling north of the border to face FC Edmonton on Sunday at Clarke Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local time), and the game can be seen live on ESPN3 (U.S.) and NASL.com (Canada).
