PLAYER OF THE WEEK | San Francisco Forward Devon Sandoval

The San Francisco Deltas strengthened their position in the race to The Championship, the league’s four-team postseason tournament, in Week 9 and forward Devon Sandoval was the star of the show.

In two contests last week, the veteran scored twice and added an assist to earn North American Soccer League (NASL) Player of the Week honors.

In midweek action, Sandoval started from the bench in a road contest against the New York Cosmos. Entering the game in the 68th minute, the Deltas were trailing by two goals. The forward’s introduction, though, turned the game on its head.

Sandoval drew a penalty kick when Kyle Bekker sent a free kick into the box, and the 26-year-old then stepped up to the spot and converted in the 80th minute to cut into the Cosmos’ lead. Five minutes later, the game was level when Bekker intercepted an errant pass and played the ball to Sandoval. With his first touch, the forward struck a shot from distance that picked out the top corner for the equalizer in the 2-2 draw on Wednesday.

Sandoval entered Saturday night’s game brimming with confidence following his midweek performance. Playing at home against FC Edmonton, he used a nifty turn to create space for himself before lofting in a cross that was headed into the back of the net by Bryan Burke in the early going. Burke later forced an own goal with a dangerous cross to double the lead before the Eddies attempted a late comeback with a headed goal from Dustin Corea. San Francisco, though, held on for all three points in a 2-1 victory at Kezar Stadium.

The goals in Week 9 pushed Sandoval’s tally to four on the season as the Deltas continue to battle for a postseason spot. The win on Saturday gave San Francisco a three-point cushion in second place in the Combined Standings.

The native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, began his career with MLS side Real Salt Lake in 2013. He spent subsequent loan spells with the Carolina RailHawks (now North Carolina FC), Real Monarchs, and Rayo OKC before sealing a permanent move to the Deltas in January.

San Francisco now heads to Edmonton to face the Eddies once more in a Sunday tilt at Clarke Stadium. The game gets underway at 4 p.m. ET and can be seen live on ESPN3 (U.S.) and NASL.com (Canada).