NEW YORK (Thursday, July 13, 2023) – Philadelphia Union midfielder Dániel Gazdag was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchday 25 of the 2023 MLS season.
Gazdag scored twice from the penalty spot in the club’s 2-0 victory against Nashville SC at GEODIS Park on Wednesday, July 12. By scoring both goals in the match from the penalty spot, Gazdag improved his conversion rate to 16-of-16 in his MLS career, which is now the second-longest in MLS history by a player to start his MLS career, behind only Nicolás Lodeiro (18 straight). The Hungarian now has eight penalty kick goals this season, becoming just the fifth player in MLS history to reach the milestone, and the first since Ola Kamara in 2021 (nine). Overall, Gazdag is one penalty kick shy of tying the MLS single-season record of nine, which is held by three different players.
Philadelphia opened the scoring in the 40th minute when Gazdag stepped up to the penalty spot, sent Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis to the right, and then slotted his effort into the right corner for a 1-0 lead (Watch Here). The Union then earned another penalty late in the second half when Mikael Uhre was taken down in the box. Gazdag took the penalty kick again, but this time going left in the 84th minute and finding the side netting to earn a 2-0 victory (Watch Here).
Gazdag becomes the third different Union player to be named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire this season, joining Julián Carranza (Matchdays 15 and 17) and Mikael Uhre (Matchday 8). Philadelphia is the only team to win four MLS Player of the Matchday honors this season and they have now accumulated seven accolades across the last two seasons. Gazdag is the fourth player in club history to earn the honor multiple times in his career (Matchday 27 in 2022).
Philadelphia will look to win consecutive matches when they host New York City FC at Subaru Park on Matchday 26 this Saturday, July 15 (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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