Fabián Espíndola led D.C. United to their first win of the season on Saturday, scoring goals on either side of halftime to power D.C. to a 4-0 home victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.
On Tuesday, he was rewarded for his efforts, when it was announced that the Argentine forward was voted MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR).
Espíndola gave D.C. the lead in the 39th minute. He ran onto a loose ball after Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted failed to hold a Chris Rolfe shot, collected the rebound and tapped home from close range to give United a 1-0 lead (watch goal).
He doubled D.C.’s advantage in the 54th, again collecting a rebound and finishing from inside the six to make it 2-0. Defender Steve Birnbaum headed a Taylor Kemp corner kick off the crossbar, with Espíndola using a quick reaction to finish his close-range chance (watch goal).
Espíndola easily could have had a couple more goals, but the 30-year-old was denied by a pair of fine saves from Ousted in the 33rd and 47th minutes. Espíndola will return to action on Saturday, when D.C. will host Toronto FC at RFK Stadium (5 pm ET, TSN4 in Canada, MLS LIVE in the US).
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
