After a monster performance that helped his team to a clean sheet and a 1-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, LA Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond has been named Player of the Week for Week 7 of the MLS season.
The 28-year-old racked up 12 saves in total in Saturday's match, every one of them needed as the Galaxy took their fifth win in seven games to start the season. He was at it from the outset of the contest, denying San Jose's Javier "Chofis" Lopez on a laser shot with a sprawling save in just the ninth minute.
After the Galaxy went up 1-0 in the 70th minute through an own goal that deflected in off San Jose's Tanner Beason, Bond came through again on a ridiculous sequence in the 82nd minute that saw him make a highlight-reel double save to deny both Andy Rios and Shea Salinas.
He first laid out to deny a rocket shot from Rios that looked bound for goal, then managed to gather himself and deflect away a close-range rebound effort from Salinas to squash San Jose's best look at the equalizer. The stalwart effort ended up as enough to let the Galaxy take the big rivalry victory.
It's the continuation of a fantastic start to Bond's first year in MLS after joining the Galaxy over the offseason from West Brom, as he now has racked up 40 saves in seven matches. Bond and the Galaxy will return to action next following the June international break with a home matchup against the Seattle Sounders on June 19 (9 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
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.
