Atlanta United 2 forward Tristan Trager was named the USL Championship Player of the Week for Week 17 by the league office on Tuesday. Selected by Atlanta United in the second round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, Trager recorded his first professional brace in a 4-3 win against Charleston Battery last Wednesday and replicated his tally with a pair of goals against El Paso Locomotive in a 2-2 draw Saturday. Assisting on both of Trager’s goals against El Paso, Mertz also featured in the USL Championship’s Team of the Week.
Making his debut for ATL UTD 2 last month, this marks Trager’s first accolade from the USL, the third time this season an Atlanta player has been named Player of the Week (Jackson Conway, Raimar) and the seventh time in team history.
The Air Force Academy alumnus got off to a quick start against Charleston, scoring Atlanta’s quickest goal of the season just 43 seconds into the match. A Battery defender touched the ball right into the path of Trager, who took a touch before firing past goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux.
The forward scored again almost two minutes later after Jackson Conway sent him through on goal. Trager put a shot on target, which Fauroux saved with his feet, but it bounced right back to Trager and the 22-year-old found the back of the open net with his left foot.
Against El Paso, Trager scored his first by getting his head on the end of a perfect Robbie Mertz cross to the back post and equalizing the score line at 1-1 in the 11th minute.
The duo of Mertz and Trager combined again in the 17th minute, as another inch-perfect pass from Atlanta’s captain put Trager on a breakaway run. The California native ran into the El Paso box, composed himself and found the back of the net with his left foot for his fifth goal in a week.
Trager earned 50 percent of the vote from the USL National Media Panel, which is made up of representatives from each media market in the Championship.
Trager and ATL UTD 2 (4-12-2, 14 points) finishes out its two-match homestand against Birmingham Legion on Wednesday, July 6 (7:30 p.m., ESPN+).
