Brendan Burke Named USL Championship Coach of the Week Again
It's the third such nod for the Hartford manager, who was joined in the TOTW by three players
Hartford Athletic manager Brendan Burke was named USL Championship Coach of the Week for Week 32 of the 2025 USL Championship season. He was joined in receiving weekly honors by several players, as Sebastian Anderson, Arturo Diz Pe, and Jack Panayotou were all named to the Team of the Week with Josh Belluz also added to the bench.
Burke called it the “ultimate team award,” but it’s easy to see why the Hartford manager is receiving plaudits. Two wins in the week, following on from the Jägermeister Cup triumph the preceding Saturday, is the kind of stretch that reflects well on everyone involved. With those results also securing Hartford’s place in the playoffs and pushing them to the verge of a home playoff game, Burke is continuing to enjoy one of the best spells of success in not only Hartford’s history, but his own.
It’s the third time this season that Burke has earned Coach of the Week honors — in addition to being named USL Championship Manager of the Month for August — and if those honors reflect team success, the team’s success starts with the manager who has done so much to change the culture.
And as for the players who actually get the job done on the field, they are also receiving individual recognition, with Diz Pe and Panayotou becoming the ninth and 10th Latics to receive TOTW honors in 2025. Three more players have been named to the bench, meaning that over half of the senior players who have taken the pitch for Hartford this season have been included in the TOTW in one way or another.
Anderson earned his second Team of the Week honor of 2025, having previously been included following match Week 28. The right-back was arguably the most impactful player of Hartford’s 3-2 victory over Sacramento last Saturday, scoring the Latics’ opener, creating multiple chances, and playing the energetic defense that has characterized his season. For the goal, his first touch of a long ball from Marlon Hairston was absolutely class, taking Sacramento keeper Danny Vitiello out of the picture and allowing Anderson to simply roll the ball into the back of the net.
After that game, Anderson made a similar point to Burke: individual accolades are a team effort: “[I]t’s a…collective thing,” Anderson said. “And it’s like, I’m not doing this stuff without my team. You know, Marley plays a great ball into me today and I’m not doing that without him. And just the whole year it’s been a team effort and the team setting me up to be successful and [I’m] really appreciative of that.”
Diz Pe was named to the TOTW for the first time this season, following a strong defensive performance in Hartford’s rescheduled game against Oakland Roots. After the Latics were largely outplayed in that game, Diz Pe and his teammates regrouped in the second half and locked Oakland down as they stormed back for a 3-1 win.
That win was keyed in large part by Panayotou, who provided the assist for both of Hartford’s first two goals. For the first, his inwinging corner found Josh Belluz, who powered a header past Oakland keeper Raphael Spiegel. For the second, following a turnover in midfield, Panayotou drove towards the box and then played an excellent through-ball for Kyle Edwards, and the forward made no mistake as he slotted home his 12th goal of the season. For Panayotou, it’s his first TOTW honor in 2025, although he was named to the bench for the opening round of the USL Jägermeister Cup.
Belluz, who scored Hartford’s first goal in Oakland, was named to the bench for the first time this season. The 24-year-old, who is on loan from Colorado Rapids 2 of MLSNP, was making just his second appearance for the Latics since joining the club in early September.
Having wrapped up a playoff slot last weekend, Hartford Athletic are back in action on Saturday night, as they travel south to take on Tampa Bay Rowdies, aiming to lock up a top-four seed and a home playoff game.