A game-winning diving header by MetroStars forward John Wolyniec in a 1-0 victory against the Kansas City Wizards was voted by fans as the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week for the week ending May 30, 2004 (Week 9). A Sierra Mist Goal of the Year finalist in 2003, the Staten Island native earned Man of the Match honors for his 73rd minute strike which gave his team all three points in a 1-0 regular season victory at Giants Stadium on Sunday, May 30.
The weekly Goal of the Week winner is determined from a selection of finalists through a fan vote conducted on the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week section of Major League Soccer's official web site: www.MLSnet.com - (56K|384K).
Wolyniec captured 39 percent of the vote, beating out Dallas Burn midfielder Ronnie O'Brien whose weaving run through the Los Angeles Galaxy back line received 34 percent of the ballots. Galaxy midfielder Sasha Victorine (16 percent) and Columbus Crew forward (11 percent) also figured in the weekly voting.
The 27-year-old Wolyniec scored his third goal of the season 17 minutes from time on Sunday as the MetroStars snapped a five-game winless streak. The MetroStars finally broke down a stingy Wizards defense in the 73rd minute when midfielder Eddie Gaven flicked an Amado Guevara free kick toward the back post with his head. Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola flapped at it as it came off the face of the crossbar and Wolyniec was poised right at the doorstep to send the ball into the far corner with a diving header.
"Of course I want to start and I'm going to try to make statements," said Wolyniec, who has started three of the MetroStars' eight matches this season. "I just hope our team wins with guys coming out wanting to score goals when they step on the field ... I knew this moment would come. Getting another start enables me to do the best I can when I get out there and make the best out of my opportunities."
"He's a lot of the heart and soul of the locker room and he brings that when he's out on the field - in the chances he has out there you know he's going to go for it," said MetroStars goalkeeper Jonny Walker. "For him to put another one in there to take another late win in an important game for us is huge."
Wolyniec is the second MetroStars forward whose goal has won the Goal of the Week honors this year after Trinidad and Tobago international Cornell Glen was recognized in Week 6 for a spectacular tally which came on a heel deflection.
Streaming video highlights and goals from MLS games are available for viewing every weekend on MLSnet.com just hours after the conclusion of the final match of the weekend. The Sierra Mist Goal of the Week winner is announced the following Wednesday.
At the end of the regular season, each of the 29 Goal of the Week winners selected throughout the season will be featured in voting for the Sierra Mist MLS Goal of the Year, an award presented annually to the author of the season's most spectacular scoring play. The Sierra Mist Goal of the Year award will be presented at the annual Gala Awards ceremony in the days leading up to MLS Cup 2004.
2004 SIERRA MIST GOAL OF THE WEEK WINNERS:
Week 1: Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United)
Week 2: Ronald Cerritos (D.C. United)
Week 3: Dwayne De Rosario (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 4: Carlos Ruiz (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 5: Joe Franchino (New England Revolution)
Week 6: Cornell Glen (MetroStars)
Week 7: Jaime Moreno (D.C. United)
Week 8: Freddy Adu (D.C. United)
Week 9: John Wolyniec (MetroStars)
