Atlanta United Midfielder Ezequiel Barco Voted MLS Player of the Week
NEW YORK
(Monday, April 15, 2019)
– Atlanta United midfielder Ezequiel Barco was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the seventh week of the 2019 MLS season.
Atlanta defeated the New England Revolution 2-0 at Gillette Stadium on Saturday behind a brace from Barco, the first multigoal performance of his MLS career. Barco is tied for 10
th
in the league with three goals scored this season, all three coming in the last three matches played. Atlanta sits tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference with five points (1-2-2 overall record).
After entering the game in the 15
th
minute as an injury replacement, Barco immediately made an impact on the match, scoring in the 29
th
minute to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead. Héctor Villalba dribbled into the box along the end line before dishing off to Barco who calmly finished with a right-footed shot to the center of goal (
watch goal
).
Barco then scored his second goal in the 49
th
minute to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead. The 20-year-old launched a stunning curler from the top left corner of the box into the right side of goal, leaving goalkeeper Cody Cropper helpless (
watch goal
).
Atlanta United returns to action on Saturday, April 20 when hosting FC Dallas at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (4 p.m. ET, ESPN / ESPN Deportes / WatchESPN).
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.
