When Week 29 began, Golden Boot frontrunner Chris Wondolowski hadn't scored in the run of play for nearly six weeks. When the dust settled, Wondo had broken out of his slump in a big way, adding three goals from open play in two games.
That helped his San Jose Earthquakes collect four points and close in on their first Supporters' Shield since 2005. For that, the Bay Area native earned his third MLS Player of the Week award of 2012 as voted by the North American Soccer Reports. (See how the media voted here.)
Wondolowski played an unusual role off the bench vs. Portland last Wednesday at Buck Shaw Stadium, but his two second-half goals helped the Quakes snatch a point in a furious rally. Then on Saturday in Seattle, his flick-redirection off Víctor Bernárdez's cross proved the winner as San Jose completed a clean sweep of their Western Conference rivals.
Wondo now has a dominating lead in the Golden Boot race, his total of 22 goals eight more than the three-way log jam for second between Robbie Keane, Álvaro Saborío and Kenny Cooper.
It's just another accolade for the MLS MVP candidate, who also collected the Player of the Week award in Weeks 9 and 19, as well as Player of the Month nods in April and June.
2012 MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week 29: Thierry Henry (New York)
Week 28: Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)
Week 27: Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)
Week 26: Federico Higuaín (Columbus Crew)
Week 25: Federico Higuaín (Columbus Crew)
Week 24: David Ferriera (FC Dallas)
Week23: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
Week22: Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)
Week21: Jairo Arrieta (Columbus Crew)
Week20: Calen Carr (Houston Dynamo)
Week 19: Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 18: Álvaro Saborío (Real Salt Lake)
Week 17: Danny Koevermans (Toronto FC)
Week 16: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
Week 13-15: Patrice Bernier (Montreal Impact)
Week 12: Emilio Rentería (Columbus Crew)
Week 11: Dwayne De Rosario (D.C. United)
Week 10: Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution)
Week 9: Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 8: Steven Lenhart (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 7: Chris Pontius (D.C. United)
Week 6: Dan Kennedy (Chivas USA)
Week 5: Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
Week 4: Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
Week 3: Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
Week 2: David Estrada (Seattle Sounders)
Week 1: Kalif Alhassan (Portland Timbers)
