D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen was selected by media members as Major League Soccer's Player of the Week after leading his team to a 4-0 road win over FC Dallas. Olsen registered his second multiple goal game of the year, scoring two goals in the first half.
Olsen's first goal of the game, and his sixth of the season, was a 35-yard blast in the fourth minute that caught FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala moving the wrong way after an intercepted clearance. Olsen's second tally came just before half time, when he capitalized on the rebound of a Luciano Emilio shot and put United ahead 2-0. Christian Gómez and Fred added goals for United. With the win, United extended its winning streak to six games and moved into a first place tie with New England in the Eastern Conference standings.
Olsen also received MLS Player of the Week honors for week 10, when he notched his first career hat trick in a 4-2 win against the New York Red Bulls at RFK Stadium. He is the fifth player to win MLS Player of the Week more than once this season, joining Kansas City's Eddie Johnson (3 times), D.C. United's Luciano Emilio (2), New York's Juan Pablo Angel (2), and Chivas USA's Maykel Galindo (2).
Now in his 10th MLS season, Olsen has recorded 28 goals and 45 assists during his career. Olsen also received the MLS Player of the Week accolade in Week 4 of 2000. Olsen won MLS Cup in 1999 and 2004 with United and was named MVP of the 1999 final. He has been named to the MLS All-Star team twice, in 1998 and 1999.
The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA).
2007 Player of the Week Winners
Week 1: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
Week 2: Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 3: Maykel Galindo (Chivas USA)
Week 4: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 5: Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo)
Week 6: Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)
Week 7: Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls)
Week 8: Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 9: Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 10: Ben Olsen (D.C. United)
Week 11: Luciano Emilio (D.C. United)
Week 12: Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)
Week 13: Nicholas Addlery (D.C. United)
Week 14: Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo)
Week 15: Juan Toja (FC Dallas)
Week 16: Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew)
Week 17: Ante Razov (Chivas USA)
Week 18: Luciano Emilio (D.C. United)
Week 19: Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls)
Week 20: Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls)
Week 21: Maykel Galindo (Chivas USA)
Week 22: Ben Olsen (D.C. United)
