NEW YORK (Monday, June 19, 2023) – Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchday 19 of the 2023 MLS season.
Mukhtar recorded his second hat trick of the season, scoring all three goals in Nashville’s 3-1 victory over St. Louis CITY SC at GEODIS Park on Saturday, June 17 (Watch Highlights From His Performance Here). The German midfielder now has four career MLS hat tricks and is just the 12th player in league history to hit that mark. Only Inter Miami CF’s Josef Martínez (six) has more hat tricks among active players. Mukhtar’s first goal was also his 50th over the past three seasons. With that goal, he became the third player in league history to score 50 goals and add 30 assists over a three-year span, joining Sebastian Giovinco (2015-17) and Robbie Keane (2012-14, 2013-15).
Mukhtar opened the scoring in the 11th minute when the ball deflected to him in the box, and he thrashed his effort past the St. Louis goalkeeper (Watch Here). After St. Louis equalized before halftime, Nashville earned a penalty kick, which Mukhtar stepped up and placed in the corner in the 70th minute (Watch Here). The 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP completed his hat trick five minutes later when Dax McCarty found him with a backheeled pass, and he slotted his shot into the side netting (Watch Here).
This is Mukhtar’s second MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental this season (Matchday 11) and the eighth of his career. Mukhtar is the fourth player in league history to win multiple Player of the Matchday honors in three consecutive seasons (Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sebastian Giovinco, and Josef Martínez).
Nashville aims to extend their 10-game unbeaten run against CF Montréal at Stade Saputo on Matchday 20 on Wednesday, June 21 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire is selected each matchday 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.
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