After a dominant performance in the Portland Timbers' 4-0 win over the Houston Dynamo, Diego Valeri has been named MLS Player of the Week for Week 16.
Valeri had a hand in all four goals, beginning with an assist to Marvin Loria to open the scoring in the first half. The second half was all Portland and all Valeri. He thundered home a penalty in the 61st minute then spearheaded a swift counter attack two minutes later. He found time for one more assist before the final whistle, setting up Jeremy Ebobisse.
He now has four goals and 10 assists this season. The 2017 Landon Donovan MLS MVP in on pace to break his career high in assists -- 14, set in 2014 -- as well as have double-digit goals and assists for the fifth time since joining the Timbers in 2013.
The Timbers began the weekend at the bottom of the Western Conference but have now started their ascent up the table. With a home-heavy second half of the season, and Valeri producing like this, Portland will hope to climb over the playoff line by the end of Decision Day.
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 voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
