NEW YORK
(Monday, May 27, 2019)
– Sporting Kansas City forward Johnny Russell was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 13
th
week of the 2019 MLS season.
Russell scored a hat trick in Sporting Kansas City’s 3-2 win over Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park. The hat trick was the second of Russell’s MLS career and he is now the second MLS player with multiple hat tricks since the start of the 2018 season. Russell has scored seven goals this season, tied for fourth most in the league, to go along with three assists. SKC is tied for 10
th
in the Western Conference with 14 points (3-4-5 overall record).
The Scottish international opened the scoring on Sunday in the 29th minute with his league-leading third goal from outside the penalty area as he tucked a shot inside the far post from 20 yards out (
watch goal
).
Russell doubled SKC’s lead just before the half with a 30-yard dribbling display as he weaved through the Sounders FC defense before beating Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei with a clinical finish (
watch goal
). Russell completed his hat trick in the 68th minute with a curling first-time strike into the lower left corner of the net to push SKC’s advantage to 3-1 (
watch goal
).
Sporting Kansas City returns to action on Wednesday when hosting the LA Galaxy (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+), before hitting the road to face the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday, June 1 (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
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.
