NEW YORK (Monday, May 3, 2021) – San Jose Earthquakes forward Cade Cowell was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 3 of the 2021 MLS season.
Cowell scored one goal and added two assists in the Quakes’ 4-1 win against D.C. United at PayPal Park on Saturday evening, leading the club to their second victory in a row.
The performance followed a win vs. FC Dallas on April 24 when Cowell had a goal and an assist. With two goals and three assists on the season, Cowell is tied for the most combined goals and assists in MLS this year (with the LA Galaxy’s Javier Hernández, who has five goals).
On Saturday, Cowell broke open a 1-1 tie in the 26th minute with a goal made of sheer ability. Latching onto a pass from Cristian Espinoza down the right touchline, Cowell outraced his defender over a 50-yard sprint before curling the ball home just inside the near post from the right side of the area (watch goal here).
Cowell’s first assist came on the San Jose opener from Eduardo López after just 51 seconds, latching onto a quick break before finding López for a perfectly weighted curling shot from just outside the area (watch goal here). Then in the 85th minute, Cowell skipped down the right flank before floating a cross into the goalmouth for Jackson Yueill to head home for his second goal of the night (watch goal here).
The seventh-youngest player to sign a contract in MLS history, Cowell became the third-youngest in league history to win MLS Player of the Week honors (aged 17 years, 201 days), the youngest since Freddy Adu became the record-holder when he won the award twice during the 2005 season.
The Quakes return to action this weekend when they travel to face Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Friday evening at 9:30 p.m. ET in a matchup of second-place clubs in the Western Conference.
The MLS Player of the Week 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.
