San Jose Earthquakes midfielder narrowly edged out Colorado Rapids forward Jeff Cunningham in voting for the July Honda MLS Player of the Month award. Clark led the Quakes to a 3-1-1 record during the month of July, which saw the Quakes move into a first place tie in the Western Conference despite playing four out of five games on the road.
Clark began the month of July with a goal and an assist as the Quakes overcame two one-goal deficits and earned a 2-2 tie with FC Dallas on the road on July 2, despite playing a man down for final 56 minutes. Clark's goal in that match, a drive into the upper corner, was chosen by the fans the Sierra Mist MLS Goal of the Week through voting on MLSnet.com. On July 9 against the Columbus Crew, Clark set up teammate Ronald Cerritos' winning goal by streaking past Crew defender Chad Marshall and delivering a perfect cross into the box, as San Jose stretched its unbeaten streak to seven games with the 2-1 victory.
The Atlanta, GA native finished the month with two strong performances that saw San Jose defeat the Colorado Rapids on the road and the MetroStars at home, both by 2-1 margins. Only 22 years old, he has made himself into one of the top central midfielders in MLS, combining his ability to cover ground and break up opponent's attacks with great ability in attack.
The Honda Major League Soccer Player of the Month is selected following the last game of each month throughout the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA).
2005 PLAYER OF THE MONTH WINNERS
April: Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution)
May: Carlos Ruiz (FC Dallas)
June: Nate Jaqua (Chicago Fire)
July: Ricardo Clark (San Jose Earthquakes)
