Another week, another set of accolades for Seattle Sounders FC players.
Major League Soccer on Monday named João Paulo to the Week 12 Team of the Week, while Kelyn Rowe made the bench.
João Paulo has been in the upper echelon of central midfielders in MLS this season, consistently putting in impeccable two-way performances. The Brazilian, who donned the captain’s armband for the first time, continued that trend in a 2-0 demolition of the Houston Dynamo, pulling the strings in middle of the park and shielding the back line.
Lining up as an attacking midfielder in the absence of Cristian Roldan, Rowe bagged his first goal for his hometown club in Week 12. The Federal Way native latched onto a clever cutback from Alex Roldan, coolly slotting his finish past the Dynamo goalkeeper.
João Paulo, Rowe and the Sounders will return to action this weekend following a brief break for the Concacaf Gold Cup as they travel to Allianz Field for an away match against Minnesota United (11:00 a.m. PT; ESPN, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM) on Sunday.
