Austin FC's Tomás Pochettino has won MLS Player of the Week honors for Week 17 after scoring a brace that helped spearhead his side to a big 3-2 rivalry victory over Houston Dynamo FC at Q2 Stadium on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old Argentine scored the opener shortly after the match kicked off and added his second just shy of the halftime whistle to highlight an all-around dynamic shift, helping his team win the first-ever Copa Tejas showdown and snap a three-game losing streak.
Pochettino got started in just the seventh minute by slipping behind the Houston backline, running onto a ball that was headed down by Julio Cascante and scorching a shot that bounced off the far post and deflected into the net.
Pochettino struck again just on the stroke of halftime, pouncing on the rebound after an initial shot from teammate Diego Fagundez was saved, and slotting home the finish. It was a crucial strike, restoring Austin's lead after Houston's Tyler Pasher had equalized in the 27th minute.
Fellow Designated Player Cecilio Dominguez found Austin's third in the 56th minute and they held on for the 3-2 victory despite an 86th-minute tally from Houston's Fafa Picault.
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of the vote. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
