Goal of the Matchday

Atlanta's Josef Martinez wins Week 3 AT&T MLS Goal of the Week award

It completed a hat trick, put the exclamation point on a thumping home win, notched a first MLS assist for a Homegrown phenom and brought the house down on yet another wild evening at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 


Oh, and Josef Martinez's diving header was a pretty nice finish unto itself, too. 


Atlanta United's Venezuelan goal hunter is the winner of the Week 3 AT&T MLS Goal of the Week race, racking up 57 percent of the vote to outpace an upper-90 rip by Sporting KC's Graham Zusi (36%) and the rest of the field. Chris Wondolowski's one-timer in Kansas City finished third (4%), followed by FC Dallas' Roland Lamah (2%) and New York City FC's Maxi Moralez (1%). 


Martinez's header, the 23rd goal of his fledgling MLS career, capped a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday and bagged his fourth career MLS hat trick. Even though he's barely been in the league a year, he's already one away from the league record of five, shared by Stern John of Columbus Crew SC (who did it in 55 games) and Diego Serna (who needed 124 games).


The goal also marked the first MLS assist for Five Stripes prospect Andrew Carleton, who delivered the pinpoint cross to the far post for his teammate to nod home, and it's the second straight GOTW nod for Atlanta, with Miguel Almiron taking the Week 2 gong


Check out all the nominees and full results for Week 3 Goal of the Week voting.