By Favian Renkel and Justin Ruderman
Welcome back to Week No. 20 of Justin and Favian’s Weekly MLS Awards where SBI staff writers Justin Ruderman and Favian Renkel bring you a glimpse at the best of each week in MLS.
This week, four of the top-five teams suffered defeat while Inter Miami sat on the couch smiling ear to ear during their bye week.
Player of the Week
Justin Ruderman: Ashley Westwood (Charlotte FC)
Nearly single-handedly, Ashley Westwood took down the reigning Supporters’ Shield champions in their home with a hat trick of assists in a 3-1 victory. It doesn’t get much better than that.
The first assist was the best assist with Westwood dropping a dime like hitting a pot of gold with a rainbow for Iuri Tavares to give Charlotte the lead. Just two minutes later, the second came from a clever throughball to Leil Abada with the third clinching the win in the 66th minute from a corner.
Most incredible? Those were his first three assists of the season.
Charlotte’s captain earns attention for his defensive work in The Crown’s midfield (and rightly so) but he is crucial to every part of Dean Smith’s game model from defending and control in the middle of the park to chance creation and goalscoring. There are many players in MLS who often don’t get the credit or recognition they deseve and despite being the clear leader of this Charlotte side on and off the pitch, I still feel Westwood deserves more plaudits than he receives.
Favian Renkel: Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew)
As Nancy said, “He was MVP already last year.” It was only a matter of time before Cucho Hernandez regained the form he had at the end of the season. Despite the controversy surrounding him at the beginning of the season, Hernandez has significantly contributed to the Columbus Crew achieving an MLS-leading +25 goal differential. In their last five games, the Crew has secured victories with a combined goal difference of 18. It…
Source link : https://sbisoccer.com/2024/07/ashley-westwood-columbus-crew-headline-the-best-of-mls-for-week-20
Author : Favian Renkel
Publish date : 2024-07-16 13:38:09
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