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Five Tridents named to Team of the Week – Week 23
September 20, 2023
by
Jack Longo

The Canadian Premier League announced the Team of the Week for Week 23 of the CPL season on Tuesday, with Manny Aparicio, Emil Gazdov, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Steffen Yeates, and Sean Young all earning spots after Pacific FC’s 1-1 draw with Atlético Ottawa last Wednesday and 4-1 win over York United FC on Sunday.

The captain against York on Sunday, Aparicio, was a major driving force in Pacific’s dominant display. Aparicio, who’s birthday came on the day the Tridents faced his former club in his hometown, provided his typical energy from midfield and was rewarded with a goal in the second half that effectively sealed the game for Pacific.

Aparicio was also excellent against Ottawa on Wednesday, accumulating 31 passes in the final third over the course of both matches.

At the other end of the pitch, Gazdov continued to show the immense growth he’s experienced this season in goal for Pacific. In the first match of the two, Gazdov was key in the Tridents picking up a hard-fought draw. In total, the 20-year-old made five saves against Ottawa, the most important of which came when former-Trident Ollie Bassett stepped up to take a penalty only to be denied by Gazdov’s brilliant save down low to his left.

In front of Gazdov, Meilleur-Giguère was another crucial piece in Pacific getting a result in both Ottawa and York. Meilleur-Giguère was an absolute rock at the back over the course of the two games, making 10 clearances and winning eight of 15 duels overall. Against York, Meilleur-Giguère flashed the other side of his game and not for the first time this season. After having only scored a single goal for Pacific (against Ottawa in the 2022 playoff semi-final second leg) over his first two seasons, the centre-back now has four goals this season – adding another threatening option from set-pieces for a team already featuring Amer Didic.

Moving into midfield, Yeates has been a revelation as of late for the Tridents. With two goal contributions over the two games, Yeates has come alive in front of goal and given Pacific an added attacking spark late in the season. His goal against Ottawa was his first in PFC colours and made him the 12th player to score for the team this season. Yeates then followed that up with a picture-perfect assist for Aparicio’s goal against York.

Against the Nine Stripes, Yeates was successful in all four dribbles he attempted, and over the course of both matches made 28 passes in the final third.

Another piece of Pacific’s midfield three against both Ottawa and York was the Island-born Young. Deployed in a deeper role with Cedric Toussaint suspended, Young showed his versatility in midfield by completing 91% of his passes, winning nine of 13 duels, and winning six of eight tackles over the course of both matches. Young was particularly impressive against York as he picked up his fourth goal of the season with a well-timed run and finish, and won possession nine times from his role as the deepest midfielder.

This is the seventh appearance for Young, the sixth for Aparicio, fourth for Meilleur-Giguère, and the first for Gazdov and Yeates in the CPL’s Team of the Week this season.