After assisting on all three of his team's goals in the New England Revolution's 3-2 win over the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday, Carles Gil has been named the MLS Player of the Week for Week 9.
The standout playmaker was at his best in the contest, with the hat trick of assists bringing his total up to a league-leading 10 through New England's first 10 games as the Revs continue to surge atop the Eastern Conference table. Gil becomes the first player to reach double-digits in assists in MLS this season, and the 10 assists through 10 games also tie him for the fastest to that total in a season in MLS history.
The midfielder picked up his first dime of the match in the 26th minute, setting up teammate Tajon Buchanan for the opener with a chipped ball through three defenders that found Buchanan making a run behind the defense.
His second assist came just six minutes later with a threaded pass that found DeJuan Jones’ run down the left side before the defender cut back onto his right foot and converted his shot inside the near post.
Gil rounded it off with his third and final assist of the game in the 51st minute, finding Gustavo Bou for the goal that would stand as the eventual game-winner in the 51st minute. Gil received the ball at midfield after a cleared RBNY corner kick and hit Bou with a no-look pas that the forward ran onto before making a charging run and chipping Carlos Coronel. The Red Bulls would pull goals back in the 53rd and 75th minutes, but the Revs managed to see out the 3-2 result and improve to 7W-1L-2D, leaving New England five points clear of second-place Orlando City SC at the top of the Eastern Conference.
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.
