Maxi Urruti was hailed as “one of the best forwards in Major League Soccer” by his coach over the weekend. It looks like others around the league are taking notice, too.
On Tuesday, the FC Dallas forward was voted the Alcatel MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for the third week of the 2017 MLS season.
After helping FC Dallas to a critical 2-1 win over Liga MX side Pachuca in CONCACAF Champions League semifinal action Wednesday, the 26-year-old Urruti continued his fine run of form in MLS, scoring a late brace to rally FCD to a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution at Toyota Stadium.
With FC Dallas trailing in the second half, Urruti recovered a deflected ball at the top of the box, dribbling around goalkeeper Cody Cropper and firing a right-footed shot just inside the near post to equalize the match at 1-1 in the 71st minute.
Moments later, Urruti dazzled again, collecting a long pass on the right side of the box and outmaneuvering a defender for possession. The Argentine then rocketed home a strike to the top corner from a difficult angle to give FC Dallas a 2-1 advantage in the 77th minute in what would be the eventual game-winning goal.
The brace was the first of the striker’s MLS career and Dallas is now 9-0-2 when Urruti scores a goal. His three goals on the season is tied for third best in the league, behind only Atlanta's Josef Martinez and Portland's Diego Valeri — the previous two Player of the Week recipients this season.
FC Dallas next travels to face Pachuca in the second leg of the CCL semifinals on April 4 (10 pm ET) before returning to MLS action on April 8 against Minnesota United FC (8 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
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.
