New York Red Bulls midfielder, Amado Guevara, recorded a hat trick in his team's must-win game versus Kansas City on Saturday, Oct. 14 and for his performance he earned Major League Soccer Player of the Week honors for Week 29. The win gave the Red Bulls the fourth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.
With his team on the brink of elimination, Guevara came up with three important goals in the Red Bulls' 3-2 victory on Saturday night. The Red Bulls fell behind early when the Wizards' Dan van den Bergh beat Jon Conway for the game's first goal in the 23rd minute. Guevara leveled the score and then put New York ahead on penalty kick goals, beating Wizards' goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi each time to the keeper's right side in the 31st and 60th minutes. In the 75th minute, Guevara sealed the win and playoff berth with a low shot from 24 yards out completing his third career hat trick.
Now in his fourth MLS season, Guevara has proven to be one of the top players in the league. He led the Red Bulls in scoring with eight goals and five assists this season. He was a member of the 2005 MLS All-Star team and was named the 2004 MLS MVP and MetroStars MVP.
This is Guevara's fourth career Player of the Week award. He's also been named Player of the Month once in his career in July 2004. Guevara and the Red Bulls will face D.C. United in the first leg of the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Giants Stadium at 2 p.m. ET.
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).
2006 Player of the Week Winners
Week 1: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
Week 2: Jaime Moreno (D.C. United)
Week 3: Cornell Glen (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 4: Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United)
Week 5: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 6: Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo)
Week 7: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
Week 8: Jean Philippe Peguero (New York Red Bulls)
Week 9: Jaime Moreno (D.C. United)
Week 10: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
Week 11: Ante Razov (Chivas USA)
Week 12: Scott Sealy (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 13: Troy Perkins (D.C. United)
Week 14: Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution)
Week 15: Nicholas Hernandez (Colorado Rapids)
Week 16: Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas)
Week 17: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA)
Week 18: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
Week 19: No winner named (All-Star break)
Week 20: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
Week 21: Chris Klein (Real Salt Lake)
Week 22: Edson Buddle (New York Red Bulls)
Week 23: Christian Gomez (D.C. United)
Week 24: Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 25: Joe Cannon (Colorado Rapids)
Week 26: Christian Gomez (D.C. United)
Week 27: Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 28: Jose Burciaga Jr. (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 29: Amado Guevara (New York Red Bulls)
