Atlanta United forward Josef Martínez voted Alcatel MLS Player of the Month
NEW YORK
(Thursday, October 5, 2017)
– Atlanta United forward Josef Martínez was voted the Alcatel MLS Player of the Month by members of the media for the month of September of the 2017 Major League Soccer season.
The Venezuela National Team player scored nine goals in September, leading Atlanta United to an unbeaten 5-0-2 record in the month while scoring a goal in all but two matches. Martínez is fourth in the Golden Boot race with 18 goals in just as many games. Atlanta sits third in the Eastern Conference standings (53 points, 15-9-8 overall record) and trail New York City FC by three points for the second spot in the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Martínez began the month with a 46
th
minute goal in Atlanta’s 3-0 home win against FC Dallas (
Watch Goal
). Martínez was back in the hunt for goals midweek on September 13 in a 7-0 victory over the New England Revolution. In the second minute of the match, the forward blasted a shot near-post and in to the back of the net to make it 1-0 (
Watch Goal).
Martínez received a chance from the penalty spot in the 31
st
minute and calmly slotted it in to make it 2-0 for Atlanta (
Watch Goal
). Given another shot from the spot in the 39
th
minute, Martínez powered the kick past New England goalkeeper Cody Cropper to make it 3-0 (
Watch Goal
) to complete his second hat trick of the season.
The 24-year-old scored another hat trick on September 16, but this time, in front of a record-breaking 70,425-person crowd in a 3-3 tie against Orlando City SC at home. Down 1-0 early on, Martínez began his scoring in the 36
th
minute from close range to pull Atlanta even at 1-1 (
Watch Goal
). Orlando took the lead again before halftime, but in the 55
th
minute Chris McCann crossed a long ball in to the box where Martínez finished with a powerful header to even the match at 2-2 (
Watch Goal
). After Orlando took the lead for the third time in the game, Martínez received a low cross in the box from Héctor Villalba and cracked home a volley to complete his hat trick in the 69
th
minute (
Watch Goal
).
Martínez struck once again when he opened the scoring in the 13
th
minute when hosting the LA Galaxy on September 20 (
Watch Goal
). The match ended with a 4-0 win for Atlanta United. The 24-year-old capped off his month by making his way on to the score sheet in the 33
rd
minute against the Philadelphia Union to give Atlanta United a 3-0 win and a spot in the playoffs (
Watch Goal
).
Atlanta United next take on the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, October 15 (5 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE).
The Alcatel MLS Player of the Month is voted upon by a panel of select national media members in a process conducted by MLS Communications.
