Cooper Named MLS Player of the Week
July 28th, 2008 . 6:24 pm . By: Buzz Carrick
Kenny Cooper has been named as the worthy winner of the MLS Player of the Week award for his two goal and assist performance against the LA Galaxy this weekend. Of any game Cooper could have mailed in it would be this one. In the middle of a protracted bidding warn between two European teams and his MLS side who want to keep him, just off the plane the day before from the All-Star cavalcade in Toronto, and yet Cooper put in a 100% effort that resulted in a dominating performance. Pure class that kid. Cooper is the first FCD winner of the Player of the Week award this year. Here’s the press release… COOPER VOTED MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEKFC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper was voted Major League Soccer’s Player of the Week for Week 18 of the 2008 season. Cooper scored two goals and tallied an assist in Dallas’ 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday. This is Cooper’s first Player of the Week award this season, and the second of his career (Week 16, 2006). The victory improved FCD’s record to 5-6-7 (22 points). They now sit fourth in the Western Conference, but only two points separate Dallas from the Western leaders, Real Salt Lake. FC Dallas scorched the Galaxy backline in the first 20 minutes of the half. Cooper got on the scoreboard in the 15th minute when he dribbled past Galaxy defender Ante Jazic and unloaded a left-footed shot from outside the penalty box that snuck by Steve Cronin into the right lower corner of the goal. Two minutes later, Cooper continued to punish the Galaxy defense, this time combining with teammate Dominic Oduro for a give-and-go combination that led to Cooper’s second tally of the night. Cooper started the sequence by dispossessing Galaxy defender Eduardo Dominguez and then laying the ball off to Oduro. Oduro raced into the box and passed it back across for Cooper who slotted the shot past Cronin to put Dallas up 2-0. Cooper and his teammates continued the early domination and added a third goal in 36th minute. Battling for possession in midfield, Cooper sent a back-heel pass to Arturo Alvarez who provided a precise through ball down the right flank for Oduro. The Ghanian international dribbled past Cronin and touched the ball into the open goal giving FC Dallas a 3-0 first-half lead. FC Dallas (5-6-7) returns to action on August 3 when they travel to BMO Field to play Toronto FC at 3 p.m. CT (KFWD-52). The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership information can be found at www.soccerreporters.com. 2008 Player of the Week WinnersWeek 1: Terry Cooke (Colorado Rapids) 2 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
Well deserved. the kid done good.
Hope it wasn’t his swan song, looks like maybe he and Oduro are starting to get some chemistry.