D.C. United announced today that midfielder/forward Chris Pontius was unanimously selected by the North American Soccer Reporters as the MLS Player of the Week. Pontius is the first player in five years of voting by the North American Soccer Reporters to be a two-time unanimous selection.
After an 82nd minute game-winner on the road last week against the New England Revolution, Pontius started at striker for D.C. United against its fierce Eastern Conference rivals, the New York Red Bulls. Pontius wasted little time and opened up his account in only the eighth minute after stripping Theirry Henry of the ball and hitting a shot from distance past the Red Bulls goalkeeper. The fun didn’t stop there, as Maicon Santos first wooed the crowd by beating three Red Bull defenders then found Pontius on the New York goal line ready to blast home his second. The third came 69th minute as the Black-and-Red was already up 3-1. Pontius received the ball about 40 yards from goal and immediately took on multiple Red Bull defenders before sliding his third past an outstretched keeper.
This is Pontius’ third Player of the Week selection in three years. He was previously recognized in Week 22 of the 2011 season for role in a 4-0 win against Vancouver at RFK and was a unanimous choice for Week 12 of the 2010 campaign with a two-goal performance in a 3-2 road victory against the Seattle Sounders.
The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
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