TAMPA, Fla. – The first full season in the professional ranks for Danny Trejo didn’t begin smoothly.

Sidelined by injury with Las Vegas Lights FC, it took until May for him to make his debut, and those hinderances continued until he finally got the opportunity for a run of consistent action starting in August.

That didn’t mean the young forward wasn’t setting himself up for success, though.

“During that time off, I made sure to stay learning, making sure I was able to look at my coaches and what they wanted us to do,” Trejo said. “I feel like all that helped me. I wasn’t really playing, but I was training my brain and working, seeing myself in certain spots in the field. I think that has really helped my success this season.”

With three goals and three assists across Lights FC’s first four games of the season, Trejo was on Thursday named as the USL Championship’s Player of the Month for March presented by Konami eFootball, rewarding an outstanding start to Year 2 with Lights FC that has helped push the side to a positive opening to the season. Paired with fellow forward Cal Jennings, Trejo currently leads the Championship with five goals and four assists as new Head Coach Enrique Duran’s attacking style has Las Vegas in early playoff contention.

“I think Coach has done a really good job teaching us the way he wants us to play, and I think the players are also very motivated to show Coach that we can play the way he wants us to,” said Trejo. “It’s a style that we like, and I think that makes it all fun for us.”

So, in Year 5 of the club’s history, is this the season that it comes together consistently enough to be in the playoff race at the end of the campaign? Trejo certainly hopes so.

“I’m very motivated, and I think the team is very motivated,” he said. “Right now, we’re taking it game by game, and we’re going to make sure that we prove that this team belongs in the playoffs.”

Trejo received 49 percent of a weighted poll that included the USL Championship Technical Committee, a national panel of independent media representing every USL market and an online fan vote held at USLChampionship.com. New Mexico United’s Neco Brett finished second on 21 percent after recording three goals in four games to start the season at his new club, while the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ Jake LaCava finished third on 12 percent after recording three goals in four appearances for the defending Eastern Conference title holders.

USL Championship Player of the Month – March 2022