Soccer News: NYCFC Forward With Assist and Goal
New York City FC forward David Villa has been named Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 15 as voted by the North American Soccer Reporters.
The Club’s captain scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season and added an assist as New York City FC topped the Montreal Impact 3-1 in front of 24,042 on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.
Villa opened the scoring by finishing off a well-crafted passing movement.
Tommy McNamara crossed the ball from the left side to the 6-yard box where Patrick Mullins one-touched it back to Mehdi Ballouchy. Villa made a perfectly timed run through a host of Montreal defenders, latched onto Ballouchy’s pass and fired it home for a 1-0 advantage.
“I think it was a great play, but overall I think it was a fantastic game,” Villa said. “It was well played on that first goal. That gave us the lead and we felt more comfortable. I think we had a fantastic game, both offensively and defensively.”
Spain’s all-time leading goal scorer, who was named to the MLS Team of the Week along with defender Jason Hernandez, was instrumental in New York City FC’s final goal in the 90th minute as the Impact clawed back within 2-1. Villa streaked down the left side and curled a cross past a defender to the feet of Kwadwo Poku. The midfielder blasted the shot home to solidify New York City FC’s second consecutive victory.
This is the second time Villa has been named MLS Player of the Week in his debut season in the league. The former Valencia and Barcelona forward picked up the honor following New York City FC’s 2-0 victory over New England on March 15.
New York City FC returns to the field on Wednesday evening against the New York Cosmos in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. EDT from Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y.
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
