The USL Championship announced Tuesday that Charleston Battery goalkeeper Luis Zamudio and defender Graham Smith were named to the league’s Week 34 Team of the Week.
The defensive duo turned in key performances in the Battery’s 1-0 shutout win over Indy Eleven in the regular season finale.
Zamudio notched three saves, one high claim, one clearance and eight recoveries en route to his seventh clean sheet of the year. Zamudio held firm against Indy’s advances as the visitors were in desperate need of a win to keep their season alive. This also included two saves in quick succession before halftime, which proved crucial to keep the game level into the break.
Smith led the game with 16 duels won, in addition to two blocks, two tackles won, seven clearances and four recoveries. The center-back made a crucial intervention in the 11th minute to deny Nabilai Kibunguchy’s goal-bound header to keep Indy off the board. Smith was also tidy in his distribution with a 94% passing accuracy, including going eight for nine on accurate long balls.
It’s the second Team of the Week selection of the year for both Zamudio and Smith.
With the pair of accolades, Charleston end 2026 with 23 total Team of the Week/Round selections.
The Battery’s next match will be in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Fri, Oct. 30, against Rhode Island FC to commence the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Patriots Point, and tickets for the playoff game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 34
GK – Luis Zamudio, Charleston Battery
D – Sebastian Tregarthen, Birmingham Legion FC
D – Lee Desmond, Sacramento Republic FC
D – Graham Smith, Charleston Battery
M – James Murphy, Loudoun United FC
M – Memo Rodríguez, Sacramento Republic FC
M – Lewis Hilton, Tampa Bay Rowdies
M – Emil Cuello, San Antonio FC
F – Juan Carlos Obregon Jr., Brooklyn FC
F – Trevor Amann, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
F – Ihsan Sacko, Phoenix Rising FC
Coach – Alan McCann, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
Bench – Ryan Schewe (LOU), Salvatore Mazzaferro (LDN), Brian Schaefer (TBR), Aaron Molloy (LEX), Danny Griffin (PIT), Emmanuel Samadia (HFD), Abdellatif Aboukoura (LDN)
