Real Salt Lake couldn't hold on for the win Saturday in a wild 4-3 game against the New York Red Bulls, but that doesn't mean RSL's key man in the match went unrecognized.
Forward Álvaro Saborío scored a hat trick for the visitors, picking up the Week 22 MLS Player of the Week award for his impressive performance.
After the Red Bulls went up 2-0, Saborío scored a penalty to bring the deficit to one at the end of the first half. He then tied the score in the 80th minute before giving RSL the brief lead in the 82nd minute with a terrific goal that beat New York's Luis Robles. (See how the North American Soccer Reporters voted)
Saborío is the third straight forward to take the Player of the Week award, after Chris Rolfe and Camilo. Although he did not have a vintage Gold Cup tournament with Costa Rica, Saborío returned to his club in form, and nearly helped them pull off the cross-country road win.
2013 MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week 22: Álvaro Saborío (Real Salt Lake)
Week 21: Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire)
Week 20: Camilo (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Week 19: Brad Knighton (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Week 18: Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 17: Camilo (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Week 16: Kenny Miller (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Week 15: Olmes García (Real Salt Lake)
Week 14: Diego Fagundez (New England Revolution)
Week 13: Marco Di Vaio (Montreal Impact)
Week 12: Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)
Week 11: Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo)
Week 10: Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Week 9: Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls)
Week 8: Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union)
Week 7: Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)
Week 6: Ryan Johnson (Portland Timbers)
Week 5: Will Johnson (Portland Timbers)
Week 4: Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA)
Week 3: Bill Hamid (D.C. United)
Week 2: Robert Earnshaw (Toronto FC)
Week 1: Mike Magee (LA Galaxy)
