The USL Championship announced Tuesday that Charleston Battery forward Nick Markanich was named the league’s Week 25 Player of the Week, presented by Konami eFootball.
The award caps off Markanich’s impressive weekend with a hat trick against Orange County SC at Patriots Point. It’s Matkanich’s fourth time being named Player of the Week in 2024.
MD Myers earned an honorable mention on the Team of the Week Bench after scoring a brace off the bench in less than a half hour of action.
Markanich was accurate on all three of his shots to record his fifth multi-goal game of the year, including his second hat trick, to bring his season total to 24 goals. Markanich’s first goal came from the penalty spot after winning the foul inside the box just minutes before. His next two tallies came after halftime, with the second goal being a scissor-kick finish off the volley and the third being a composed strike after beating the defense.
The Illinois native is currently on a historic pace as he leads the league’s Golden Boot race and is the top goalscorer across all American domestic leagues. Markanich is one goal away from tying the Championship single-season goal record (25) and three goals away from tying the club’s all-time single-season overall goal record (27).
It is Markanich’s ninth appearance to the Team of the Week and brings the Battery’s season total of selections to 27.
Markanich earned 67% of the ballot to claim the Player of the Week award. The Championship’s Player of the Week is selected by the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.
Charleston’s next match will be away vs. San Antonio FC on Sat., Aug. 31. The Battery return home on Sat., Sept. 12, to host Sacramento Republic FC for Kick Childhood Cancer Night at Patriots Point. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 25
GK – Koke Vegas, Rhode Island FC
D – Emmanuel Samadia, Hartford Athletic
D – Alexis Souahy, FC Tulsa
D – Luke Biasi, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
M – Christian Pinzón, Las Vegas Lights FC
M – Edwin Laszo, FC Tulsa
M – Valentin Noël, Las Vegas Lights FC
F – Nick Markanich, Charleston Battery – Player of the Week
F – Edward Kizza, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
F – Mamadou Dieng, Hartford Athletic
Coach – Bob Lilley, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Bench: Eric Dick (PIT), Akeem Ward (MEM), Jared Timmer (SAC), Jack Blake (IND), Mukwelle Akale (NM), Ben Morris (DET), MD Myers (CHS)
