This week marks the special beginning of a brand new segment on TopDrawerSoccer.com. For the first time, TDS is dolling out weekly Development Academy and ECNL Player of the Week honors.

The awards will run through the end of the season, honoring the best and brightest performances from the previous week’s action in two of the most competitive academy leagues in the country. The research process involves combing through the reported scores and stats from the prior week, as well as considering submitted nominees via email. All submissions can be channeled to Will Parchman at wparchman@topdrawersoccer.com. The submission deadline is 10 a.m. PT each Monday.

This week’s honorees are a pair of decorated prospects from opposite ends of the county. Orlando City’s Nathaniel Adamolekun and So Cal Blues’ Sydney Duarte are this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Academy Players of the Week.

Adamolekun’s had quite the year already. The Jamaican international appeared for his national team side at the U17 CONCACAF Championships in Honduras earlier this year and acquitted himself well with three goals in six matches at the competition. On the club side, the striker’s been tearing through Development Academy back lines as a critical piece of Orlando City’s U16 setup with 15 goals from 17 matches. He got three of those in a rampant performance on Saturday. Adamolekun kicked off his hat trick against Charlotte SA with a goal in the fourth minute, another in the 44th and his cherry-topper in the 47th for a 3-0 lead. Orlando City went on to win 4-0 to keep its well-heeled spot at the top of the Southeast Division.

For Duarte, the big weekend came on one of the biggest stages. ECNL hosted its San Diego event over the weekend, which brought throngs of college scouts from across the country. At the U15 level, Duarte was firmly in the prime scouting range, and she didn’t disappoint. The So Cal Blues U15 forward saved her best for last, hitting a pair of assists in a 2-0 win over fellow undefeated Crossfire Premier. Both of Duarte’s smart assists came in the final 10 minutes, when Blues put it away thanks to Duarte’s well-placed helpers for Skylar Smith and Isabella D’Aquila.

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