Atlanta United 2’s Tristan Trager Named USL Championship Player of the Week

After scoring 5 goals in just three matches, including two braces in a row, Atlanta United 2 forward Tristan Trager was named the USL Championship Player of the Week.

Trager is Atlanta United’s second-round pick of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, selected out of the Air Force Academy. He is a late arrival to the 2s this season after having to first complete his final semester of college. Trager scored his first professional goal in Oakland before following that up with his first professional brace in a 4-3 win against Charleston Battery last Wednesday. He gave fans deja vu with another quick brace against El Paso Locomotive in a 2-2 draw Saturday.

Trager is now the third Atlanta player this season to be named Player of the Week (Jackson Conway, Raimar) and the seventh time in team history.

Team captain Robbie Mertz was also named to the USL Championship’s Team of the Week after his impressive performances including assisting both of Trager’s goals against El Paso.

Trager’s quick success with the 2s has elevated the rest of the team and has shifted Coach Jack Collison’s tactics, emphasizing Trager and Conway as more of a twin-striker set. This dynamic duo has shown well as both poachers and facilitators as the 2s transition from being one of the most pedestrian offenses in the USL East to being one of its most exciting shows on Bermuda grass.

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.

On Wednesday, Trager and ATL UTD 2 (4-12-2, 14 points) look to continue their momentum against Birmingham Legion (7:30 p.m., ESPN+).