Alan Pulido made a triumphant return to the Sporting KC starting lineup on Saturday night, and his two-goal outing has now earned him Player of the Week honors for Week 15 of the MLS regular season.
Pulido scored both goals in SKC's 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, giving them a crucial three points against a Western Conference rival. Pulido had missed four games for SKC with a knock before making a 25-minute cameo in their previous game, a five-game stretch that saw them go 1-3-1.
The Mexican international's first goal of the evening on Saturday came in the 34th minute with the game scoreless, as he took a through ball and successfully navigated between two defenders before sticking home the finish.
Watch: Pulido's opener vs. Houston
He then got his second on the other side of halftime, lifting a sliding finish over Dynamo 'keeper Marko Maric to make it 2-0. Both of Pulido's goals were set up by teammate Gianluca Busio.
Watch: Pulido's sliding finish
Pulido will now join up with Mexico's national team for friendlies against the Netherlands on Oct. 7 and Algeria on Oct. 13, both of which will take place on Dutch soil. He'll be looking to make his first appearance for El Tri in over two years.
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.
