Riverhounds' Albert Dikwa named USL Championship Player of the Year

Postseason honors continue to roll in for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC forward Albert Dikwa.

The Cameroon native was named the 2023 USL Championship Player of the Year on Sunday night during halftime of the USL Championship Final between the Charleston Battery and Phoenix Rising FC on ESPN2.

The fourth-year member of the Hounds also was awarded the USL Championship’s Golden Boot after the Hounds won the Players’ Shield in the regular season.

“It’s incredible for me to be named Player of the Year, and I’m truly grateful for this great honor and recognition given by the league,” Dikwa said on-field during the award ceremony. “Being honest, the journey wasn’t easy, it was really long. But thanks to the league, the clubs, the USLPA. The standard of this league is getting better and better, and today, I can proudly say the USL Championship is one of the best second-division leagues in the world. I’m happy to be part of the league and contribute and make people happy.”

Dikwa, 25, led the league with 20 goals in 28 games during the regular season. He also scored once in U.S. Open Cup play.

He is the third Hounds player to win the league’s Player of the Year/Most Valuable player, joining 2003 A-League MVP Thiago Martins and 2013 Championship MVP José Angulo.

“When we go out there and play for each other, we’re ready to battle for each other,” Dikwa said. “And for me, the most important thing is just go out there with my brothers and know that we will get the reward of our work. We will defend together, we will attack together. The spirit is unbelievable in that team, and I love them.”

Phoenix Rising FC’s Danny Trejo finished second in Player of the Year voting, while Sacramento Republic FC’s Russell Cicerone and the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ Cal Jennings finished tied for third.

The 2023 USL Championship Awards were voted on by club management and a league-wide media panel.