Total-MLS Weekly Review – May 23

Week 10 in the MLS was full of last minute madness, stunning goals, and a lot of rain. Some fans may say we got spoiled, but in all honesty, we deserved some excitement after an injury filled, lackluster past couple of weeks. Here’s my recap of Week 10 in the MLS.

Team of the Week: Seattle Sounders

The Sounders kept their hot streak alive at Qwest Field on Saturday, and the late second heroics came from one of the unlikeliest of sources. Defender Jeff Parke scored a stunning header in extra time that rocked the city of Seattle, jumped the Sounders to 2nd in the Western Conference, and poured a bucket of salt on the painful gash that is Sporting Kansas City. When Zakuani went down just a few weeks ago, a lot of questions were asked about who would pick up the slack on the offensive end. Well the least predictable Sounders are now becoming the most effective and proving that the loss of one player, doesn’t mean the loss of a season. Last week helped label Seattle as this year’s team that will simply find ways to win, no matter the circumstances. This team will be successful with or without Zakuani.

Player of the Week: Mehdi Ballouchy

He might not have played the best game in the MLS last week, but he certainly played well enough to get himself out of the doghouse. For weeks, Red Bulls fans (including myself) have been criticizing the Moroccan for inconsistency off the bench and sheer lack of creativity in the central midfield. Since the beginning of the season, Ballouchy has made himself a topic of discussion and helped the team in very minimal ways despite playing significant minutes off the bench. Red Bull nation simply had had enough. Which is why it was such a pleasant surprise to see such a struggling player transform into hero right before our eyes on Saturday night. Saturday night was one of Mehdi’s various sparks of excellence that he tends to show at random times in a season. This goal was exactly what he needed to get his confidence back up and finally start shining in the NY spotlight. With De Ro gone in June, let us hope he has more of those tricks hidden up his sneaky sleeve.

Goal of the Week: Carlos Ruiz

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Scratch that. Goal of the Year! Ruiz’s fantastic left-footed volley sealed the victory for Philadelphia and boosted the Union to first in the East.

(image courtesy of soundersfc.com)