Seattle Sounders FC forward David Estrada is Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 2. Estrada Saturday became the third player in club history to score a hat trick, leading Seattle to a 3-1 season-opening victory over Toronto FC.
The Player of the Week award is the first of Estrada’s three-year MLS career, and the 14th such award given to a Seattle player since its inaugural season of 2009 by the North American Soccer Reporters.
Estrada scored his first goal in the 17th minute when he poked in a loose ball following a scramble in the box. He added a second tally in the 51st minute, and completed the hat trick just moments after Toronto’s lone goal in the 63rd minute.
Estrada has scored four of Seattle’s six goals across all competitions this season. The match marked the first home MLS start for Estrada. He joins Lamar Neagle (8/27/11) and Blaise Nkufo (9/18/10) as the only Sounders FC players to net a hat trick.
He also became just the third player in league history to score three or more goals in the team’s season opener (Brian Ching on April 2, 2006 and Jason Kreis on March 20, 1999).
Sounders FC continues a three-game home stand at 7 p.m. Friday when MLS Cup runners-up Houston Dynamo visit the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.
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What a fine start for Estrada and the club!