After scoring two goals and tallying an assist against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, L.A. Galaxy forward Edson Buddle earned his second Player of the Week award this season as voted on Monday by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR).
Watch: Buddle assists DeLaGarza, Buddle's first goal, Buddle's second.
The 28-year-old World Cup hopeful, who leads the league with nine goals, also captured Player of the Month honors in Apri.
“Who would expect anyone to have nine goals in six games?” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. “We know he’s a very capable player who can certainly score goals. The combination of him and Landon has been excellent. Our team has been playing well in putting Edson in position to score goals but his finishing has been outstanding.”
Buddle showed off another part of his repertoire by assisting on the Galaxy’s first goal in the 3-1 win over the Union. And just when some may have thought that Buddle’s streak had dried up after last week’s goalless draw in Kansas City, he added two more goals for his fourth multi-goal game of the season.
“His best play tonight was his assist,” Arena said after Saturday’s match.
The pass to Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza inside the first minute gave LA a goal by someone other than Buddle for the first time this season. This season the New York native became the first player in MLS history to score the first seven goals for his club to start a season.
Buddle’s nine strikes this year are nearly double his 2009 total of five.
After scoring his 27th minute goal, Buddle celebrated by feigning a telephone call with his cleat. Buddle could very well have been speaking to U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley, who is close to naming his 30-player preliminary roster for this summer's World Cup.
Bradley spoke of Buddle in glowing terms during his media appearances last Thursday. Should he call the Galaxy forward to the World Cup squad, Buddle could make his first appearance for the USA since March 2003.
“His confidence is high, and then balls seem to find him in the right spots and then when they are finding him, he’s doing the right thing with it,” U.S. national team star and Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan. “When those three things are combined, you’re going to be scoring a lot of goals.”
This is the third season in Buddle's 10-year MLS career that he has won two Player of the Week awards in a single campaign, following 2004 and 2008. He also won it one time in each of 2003, 2005 and 2006.
2010 Players of the Week
Week 1: Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake)
Week 2: Kenny Mansally (NE Revolution)
Week 3: Sebastian Le Toux (Philadelphia)
Week 4: Edson Buddle (L.A. Galaxy)
Week 5: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC)
Week 6: Edson Buddle (L.A. Galaxy)
