For the first time this season, a defender has won MLS Player of the Week honors.
All it took was getting forward to score two goals.
Real Salt Lake center back Chris Schuler was voted by the North American Soccer Reporters as Week 22's best player for his two-goal performance in the club's 3-0 blanking of D.C. United. Schuler not only scored in regular-season play for the first time in almost three years, but he also helped RSL pitch a shutout against the Eastern Conference's second-place team.
Schuler beat out a group of players that included Luke Moore, Sebastien Le Toux, Chris Wondolowski, Diego Valeri, Michel and Mike Magee. The central defender is now the third Real Salt Lake player to claim the award this season, joining Nick Rimando (Weeks 1 and 7) and Joao Plata (Week 9).
2014 MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Week 22: Chris Schuler (Real Salt Lake)
- Week 21: Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy)
- Week 20: Yannick Djalo (San Jose Earthquakes)
- Week 19: Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City)
- Week 18: Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
- Week 17: Erick Torres (Chivas USA)
- Week 16: Jack McInerney (Montreal Impact)
- Week 15: Luis Silva (D.C. United)
- Week 14: Fanendo Adi (Portland Timbers)
- Week 13: Deshorn Brown (Colorado Rapids)
- Week 12: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
- Week 11: Federico Higuaín (Columbus Crew)
- Week 10: Harry Shipp (Chicago Fire)
- Week 9: Joao Plata (Real Salt Lake)
- Week 8: Bradley Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls)
- Week 7: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
- Week 6: Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders)
- Week 5: Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders)
- Week 4: Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
- Week 3: Bernardo Añor (Columbus Crew)
- Week 2: Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC)
- Week 1: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)