NEW YORK (Thursday, September 1, 2022) – Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire for the 28th week of the 2022 MLS season.
Mukhtar scored his first hat trick of the season in Nashville’s 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, August 31 (Watch Highlights from His Performance Here). His hat trick was the second of his career after previously producing one on July 17, 2021 against Chicago Fire FC. Mukhtar brought his goal tally in 2022 to 19, which set a new club single-season record, eclipsing the previous mark of 16 that he set in 2021. The German midfielder also made history by becoming the fourth player in MLS history to produce at least 12 goal contributions (seven goals, five assists) in a calendar month. Mukhtar has scored multiple goals in a match five times this season, which is more than any other MLS player.
After Randall Leal was fouled in the box, Mukhtar stepped up and decisively slotted home a penalty kick to give Nashville a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute (Watch Here). Colorado tied up the game six minutes later, but Mukhtar gave the home side back the lead in the 54th minute when he charged into the box and powered a low-driven shot past the Rapids goalkeeper for a 2-1 advantage (Watch Here). After Nashville had extended their lead to 3-1, the Landon Donovan MLS MVP candidate finished off his hat trick in the 75th minute when a saved shot from a Nashville attacker floated into the air, and Mukhtar rose above a defender to head it into the net (Watch Here).
Mukhtar’s 35 goals since the start of 2021 are the most in MLS over that span and his 19 in 2022 are the second-most in the league, behind only Austin FC’s Sebastián Driussi (20). He leads all players in goal contributions this season with 30 (19 goals, 11 assists) and is the only player in MLS with double-digit goals and assists. The midfielder has at least one goal contribution in 11 of his last 12 matches and has had multiple goal contributions in five of those games.
Mukhtar is the second player to win MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire multiple times in 2022, joining the Philadelphia Union’s Julián Carranza (Weeks 19 and 26). He is the only player in club history to earn MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire honors and now has five such honors in total. Mukhtar’s five Player of the Week awards since the start of 2020 are the most in MLS. No other player has won the award multiple times in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. His five wins also rank as the fourth-most among active MLS players, behind LAFC’s Carlos Vela (eight), Atlanta United FC’s Josef Martínez (seven), and the Colorado Rapids’ Gyazi Zardes (six).
Nashville will look to win four-consecutive games for the first time in club history when they host Austin FC at GEODIS Park on Saturday, September 3 (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
The MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire is selected each week of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
