WATCH: Saborio's hat trick vs. Chivas USA
The swagger is back.
MLS fans got a taste of some vintage Real Salt Lake over the weekend thanks to a hat trick of goals authored by Álvaro Saborío, who moved to No. 2 in the Golden Boot race and No. 1 in the Castrol Weekly Top 20 as the top MLS performer in Week 30. (Read all about the Castrol methodology here.)
While RSL's 4-0 shutout of Chivas USA earned plaudits for Saborío and Real goalkeeper Nick Rimando in Castrol's Top 20, the weekend's other four-goal performance – New York's win over Toronto FC – resulted in four Red Bulls making the Castrol cut, including Kenny Cooper (No. 2), Markus Holgersson (No. 4), Tim Cahill (No. 6) and Thierry Henry (No. 14).
Scoring goals helps you rise the ranks. That explains how FC Dallas forward Blas Pérez (No. 3), San Jose's Steven Lenhart (No. 5), Sporting's Graham Zusi (No. 7) and Columbus' Jair Arrieta (No. 9) all made the Top 10 with braces last weekend.
With all the scoring going 'round, goalkeepers are less evident this week, but it was still interesting to see the rivals from the most recent Cascadia Cup battle finish back-to-back. Brad Knighton (Vancouver) and Michael Gspurning (Seattle) happened to fall at No. 18 and No. 19, respectively.
Weekly Top 20 Performers - Week 30+ Powered by Castrol Index
Rank |
Player |
Position |
Team |
Minutes |
Points |
vs. |
1 |
Álvaro Saborío |
Forward |
Real Salt Lake |
73 |
2,127 |
Chivas USA |
2 |
Kenny Cooper |
Forward |
NY Red Bulls |
90 |
1,807 |
Toronto FC |
3 |
Blas Pérez |
Forward |
FC Dallas |
90 |
1,314 |
SJ Earthquakes |
4 |
Markus Holgersson |
Defender |
NY Red Bulls |
90 |
1,268 |
Toronto FC |
5 |
Steven Lenhart |
Forward |
SJ Earthquakes |
39 |
1,230 |
FC Dallas |
6 |
Tim Cahill |
Midfielder |
NY Red Bulls |
90 |
1,215 |
Toronto FC |
7 |
Graham Zusi |
Midfielder |
Sporting KC |
90 |
1,195 |
Chicago Fire |
8 |
Drew Moor |
Defender |
Colorado Rapids |
90 |
1,145 |
LA Galaxy |
9 |
Jairo Arrieta |
Forward |
Columbus Crew |
65 |
1,132 |
Philadelphia Union |
10 |
Jimmy Nielsen |
Goalkeeper |
Sporting KC |
90 |
1,116 |
Chicago Fire |
11 |
Miller Bolaños |
Midfielder |
Chivas USA |
90 |
1,061 |
Real Salt Lake |
12 |
Nick Rimando |
Goalkeeper |
Real Salt Lake |
90 |
1,057 |
Chivas USA |
13 |
Milovan Mirosevic |
Midfielder |
Columbus Crew |
90 |
1,030 |
Philadelphia Union |
14 |
Thierry Henry |
Forward |
NY Red Bulls |
90 |
1,008 |
Toronto FC |
15 |
Chris Wondolowski |
Forward |
SJ Earthquakes |
90 |
999 |
FC Dallas |
16 |
Ricardo Clark |
Midfielder |
Houston Dynamo |
90 |
988 |
New England |
17 |
Matt Hedges |
Defender |
FC Dallas |
90 |
939 |
SJ Earthquakes |
18 |
Brad Knighton |
Goalkeeper |
Vancouver Whitecaps |
90 |
934 |
Seattle Sounders |
19 |
Michael Gspurning |
Goalkeeper |
Seattle Sounders |
90 |
886 |
Vancouver |
20 |
Kei Kamara |
Forward |
Sporting KC |
90 |
874 |
Chicago Fire |
