LAFC announced today that forward Carlos Vela was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 18 of the 2019 MLS season. This marks Vela’s league-best third Player of the Week honor of the year, previously winning the award in Weeks 2 and 5.
On Wednesday night, LAFC earned a 5-1 win over Sporting KC at Children’s Mercy Park. Vela added a goal and an assist in the second half to help the Black & Gold to its league-best fifth win away from home. The 30-year-old rifled a left-footed shot from the top of the box to give LAFC a 3-0 lead in the 63rd minute before setting up Rodolfo Zelaya’s first LAFC goal in the 89th minute.
On Saturday night, LAFC became the quickest team to reach 100 points in the post-shootout era after defeating Vancouver Whitecaps FC 6-1 behind a dominant performance from Vela who finished with two goals and an assist. Vela currently leads the league in goals (19), assists (12), shots (99), and shots on goal (41).
The 2019 MLS All-Star helped give LAFC a 2-1 lead in the 41st minute when placing a corner kick to the far post, resulting in a close range header by Adama Diomande. Vela then scored his first of the night to extend LAFC’s lead to 4-1 in the 54th minute, dribbling into the center of the box and finishing with a left-footed strike into the back of the net.
Vela completed his brace 15 minutes later to push LAFC to a 5-1 advantage. With his back to goal, Vela boxed out a defender to finish with a header from close range. With the win, LAFC remains atop the league standings with an overall record of 13-2-4 (43 points).
The Black & Gold are back at Banc of California Stadium on Wednesday, July 10 as the Club gets set to host the Portland Timbers in the Quarterfinals of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on ESPN + and ESPN 710 AM.
LAFC vs Portland Timbers US Open Cup Quarterfinals
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.
