FC Cincinnati striker Brenner remained in peak form during Week 34, earning his third MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire award of the 2022 season.
The 22-year-old Brazilian had three goals and one assist in a 5-2 Decision Day victory at D.C. United, a result that clinched the fourth-year club’s first-ever Audi MLS Cup Playoffs trip. They’ll be the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 seed and visit No. 4 New York Red Bulls on Saturday in Round One (12 pm ET | UniMas, TUDN, MLSsoccer.com & App).
Brenner’s three goals all came during the first half, making him the sixth different player in MLS history to score at least three hat tricks in a single season and the first since Atlanta United’s Josef Martínez in 2018.
Brenner has nine goals in his last five matches, which are tied for the most in a five-game span in a single season in MLS history. He finished the regular season with 18g/6a, far surpassing his 8g/2a from last year in roughly 700 fewer minutes played.
The club-record signing, who joined Cincy ahead of the 2021 campaign from São Paulo, was also named MLS Player of the Week in Weeks 17 and 30. Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar is the only other player to win MLS Player of the Week honors three different times in 2022.
The MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire 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 voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
