After charging into the record books with his fifth MLS hat trick this past weekend, Josef Martinez can now add another accolade to his resume.
On Tuesday, the Atlanta United striker was voted the Alcatel MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 14.
During Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Union, Martinez opened the scoring with a 21st-minute penalty kick after he was taken down in the box by Auston Trusty and Union midfielders Alejandro Bedoya and Haris Medunjanin were shown red cards as he prepared to take the PK.
He also closed the scoring with another penalty kick, beating Union goalkeeper Andre Blake in the 83rd minute to seal the win. His second goal came earlier in the second half when he banged in a Miguel Almiron cross.
With five career hat tricks, Martinez matched an MLS record held by Stern John and Diego Serna, and the Venezuelan was the fastest player to accomplish the feat (34 games). His fourth hat trick came in Week 3 and also landed him a Player of the Week award.
With 12 goals this season, Martinez leads the MLS Golden Boot race by three goals.
Atlanta United, who retook the top spot in the MLS Power Rankings this week, return to action Wednesday with a U.S. Open Cup game against the Charleston Battery (7:30 pm ET) before a showdown at New York City FC on Saturday (12:30 pm ET | TV & Streaming Info).
The Alcatel MLS Player of the Week is chosen each week of the regular season by members of the North American Soccer Reporters. The organization includes print, television, radio and online journalists who cover domestic men's soccer in the United States and Canada.
