Minnesota United defender Ike Opara was voted the MLS Player of the Week for Week 2 after scoring his second career brace in Saturday's 5-2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.
The reigning MLS Defender of the Year also had two goals in a 7-1 victory over FC Cincinnati last June 29.
As a result of his recent brace, Opara is now tied for second among MLS goal scoring leaders, while the Loons sit tied atop the Western Conference standings with six points.
Both goals resulted from Jan Gregus' corner kicks, the first giving Minnesota an early 1-0 lead in the 13th minute and the second coming 71st minute to cap the decisive victory.
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.
