Everything Cade Cowell touches is coming up roses, and now the San Jose Earthquakes forward has taken home Player of the Week honors for Week 3 of the 2021 MLS season.
Cowell notched one goal and two assists in a 4-1 win over D.C. United this past Saturday, continuing his ascension in the homegrown ranks. Only 17 years old, the US youth international has reached another level this year.
Against D.C. United, Cowell got rolling by setting up Javier Lopez’s curler in the first minute. He then scored in the 26th minute, sprung forward by Cristian Espinoza on a counter-attack before tucking home a right-footed strike that left the Black-and-Red’s backline in the dust.
Capping off his star showing, Cowell assisted Jackson Yueill’s second goal in the 85th minute. He chipped a cross to the back post, which Yueill nodded home to seal all three points.
Cowell’s statement against D.C. United follows a Week 2 win (3-1 vs. FC Dallas) where he recorded one goal and one assist. He leads the league in assists (3), more than doubling his production from a 2020 season where he recorded 1g/1a across 17 matches (four starts).
Up next, Cowell and the Earthquakes return to action on Friday evening against Real Salt Lake (9:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+), a match that’ll pit two of the Western Conference’s early point leaders against each other. Cowell, learning alongside MLS all-time goals king Chris Wondolowski and under head coach Matias Almeyda, will be in peak form.
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 voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
