SEATTLE, Wash. - Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Marco Pappa has been voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 33 of the 2014 MLS season.
Pappa earned the honor after scoring two critical goals in the final minutes of Seattle's 2-0 home victory over LA Galaxy on Saturday afternoon, securing the 2014 Supporters' Shield - the first regular-season title in Sounders FC history.
This is the second time in Pappa's career that the Guatemalan international has been named MLS Player of the Week. Pappa last claimed the award in Week 29 of the 2011 season as a member of the Chicago Fire. He is the third current Sounders FC player to claim MLS Player of the Week honors in 2014, joining Clint Dempsey (Week 5 and Week 6) and Obafemi Martins (Week 24).
After coming into Saturday's critical Supporters' Shield showdown as a substitute, Pappa scored the go-ahead goal in the 85th minute. Off a quickly taken free-kick, Pappa streaked down the left side and received a through ball from Martins before placing it into the back of the net.
Pappa secured the victory with another goal in the fifth minute of added time. After an initial challenge on LA Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, Pappa won the ball from behind and charged the 18-yard-box. He then chipped a Galaxy defender to complete his brace.
In his first season with Sounders FC, Pappa has accumulated six goals and five assists. He is one of four players on the club to have at least five goals and five assists this season (Dempsey, Martins and Lamar Neagle). The 26-year-old has 37 appearances for the Guatemala National Team. At the Copa Centroamericana in September, Pappa led Guatemala to a second-place finish, earning the tournament's Golden Boot as its top scorer and Golden Ball as its best player.
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.
Beginning its 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs run, Sounders FC will visit the winner of Wednesday's Western Conference play-in match between FC Dallas and the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday, November 2 at 6:00 PT for the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and TSN2).
