After helping lead his team to a big 3-0 victory over Atlanta United by scoring a pair of first-half goals and assisting on the second-half dagger, Chicago Fire FC's Ignacio Aliseda has been named the MLS Player of the Week for Week 11.
The 21-year-old Argentine was the catalyst for the lopsided result for Raphael Wicky's group, netting the opener in the 34th minute before finding the brace just on the stroke of halftime to set the Fire on its way.
Aliseda got his first just after the half-hour mark, taking a feed from teammate Alvaro Medran near the top of the area and firing off a deflected shot that made it over Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan and into the net.
He would strike again just before the contest hit halftime, capitalizing on an Atlanta giveaway that was originally picked off by Miguel Navarro, which set Aliseda up from nearly the same spot on the field. This time, Aliseda beat Guzan with a laser finish to the far post to double Chicago's lead.
Finally, Aliseda played the role of provider for Chicago's third and final goal of the match in the 58th minute, sending in the through ball that set up Przemysław Frankowski with a breakaway finish that rounded out the 3-0 final.
It was a breakout performance for Aliseda, who had yet to find the scoresheet through five MLS matches this season coming into the contest. The outburst marked a potential building block for the young attacker, as well as a necessary three-point haul for the Fire (2W-7L-2D), who will look to parlay it into some positive momentum as the club looks to mount a climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture after a slow start to the season.
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.
