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VW Premier Performer Analysis: Borges, Carducci surge up charts

Each week of the Fall season, CanPL.ca will highlight the top five Volkswagen Premier Performers of the Week, while updating the overall standings as players from across the league compete to top the table and win a new Volkswagen Jetta GLI.


Here are the 5 VW Premier Performers of the Week:

1) Triston Henry (Forge FC) – 93.86 pts

Forge FC's Triston Henry. (CPL).
Forge FC’s Triston Henry. (CPL).

Forge’s backstop earns top honours for a midweek clean sheet at home to HFX Wanderers. Three saves and a 93% passing accuracy out of the back, Henry held the opposition scoreless for the fifth time this season, second to only….

2) Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC) – 87.80 pts

Goalkeeper Marco Carducci of Cavalry FC celebrates with teammate Dominik Zator. (Mike Sturk/CPL).
Goalkeeper Marco Carducci of Cavalry FC celebrates with teammate Dominik Zator. (Mike Sturk/CPL).

Carducci’s 87-point day on Sunday against York9 FC sent him top of the VW Premier Performer standings with a league-leading seventh clean sheet coming on a five-save performance. The most notable stop being a body-shifting desperation move in injury time to thwart Kyle Porter (more on him later).

3) Nolan Wirth (Pacific FC) – 87.46 pts

Pacific FC goalkeeper Nolan Wirth. (CPL)
Pacific FC goalkeeper Nolan Wirth. (CPL)

The third of back-to-back-to-back goalkeepers, Nolan Wirth comes in just behind Carducci following a 3-1 victory against HFX. The VanIsle native has been stellar since coming in for Mark Village, with his five-save performance at Westhills a recent high.

4) Tristan Borges (Forge FC) – 86.72 pts

Forge FC's Tristan Borges. CPL/Ryan McCullough).
Forge FC’s Tristan Borges. CPL/Ryan McCullough).

Borges returns to the weekly top five in style, with an Olimpico against HFX Wanderers powering the diminutive attacker up the VW charts again. His pin-point goal off the corner was just one part to an impressive evening at Tim Hortons Filed, which included four shots on target and an 80% passing accuracy in the opposition’s half.

5) Kyle Porter (York9 FC) – 85.11 pts

York9's Kyle Porter (19) moves the ball against FC Edmonton midfielder Son Yong Chan (7) in the first half of a Canadian Championship match at York University Field. (Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports for CPL).
York9’s Kyle Porter (19) moves the ball against FC Edmonton midfielder Son Yong Chan (7) in the first half of a Canadian Championship match at York University Field. (Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports for CPL).

York9’s veteran winger completes our top five following an all-around evening at York Lions Stadium. Porter’s slicing, well-timed throughball that led to the winning goal by Simon Adjei was one of four key passes on the day. Porter was impressive defensively, too, with a match-high six interceptions and three tackles.


Top 5 Overall

RANK PLAYER CLUB POINTS (Avg./match)
1 Marco Carducci Cavalry FC 80.89
2 Nathan Ingham York9 FC 80.23
3 Connor James FC Edmonton 77.59
4 Emery Welshman Forge FC 77.26
5 Tristan Borges Forge FC 75.53

ANALYSIS: We have a new leader! Back-to-back weekly top-five appearances has put Cavs’ goaltender Marco Carducci on the ascendency, overtaking fellow frontrunner Nathan Ingham. Fellow weekly winner Borges made the cumulative top five with his big week but is still several points behind teammate Emery Welshman in fourth.

Download the Centre Circle app and submit your prediction for each week’s VW Premier Performer, and check out the full, position-by-position Volkswagen Premier Performer tables here.