LAFC Forward Carlos Vela voted Week 1 MLS Player of the Week
Following an electric hat trick performance, LAFC forward Carlos Vela has been voted for Week 1 MLS Player Of The Week while scoring all three goals for the LA club against the Colorado Rapids. The match was an overall flawless debut for LAFC in their 3-0 victory with midfielder Ilie Sánchez also nominated to the MLS Team of the Week.
The Week 1 MLS Player Of The Week displayed his versatility by scoring a pk in the first half thanks to a handball by Colorado’s Lalas Abubakar, with another score before halftime on a breakaway pass from Jose Cifuentes for a brace. A few minutes into the second half of the match, LAFC forward Carlos Vela landed a left-footed precision bomb right past goalkeeper William Yarbrough to extend the lead to 3-0.
Vela became only the fifth player in MLS history to score a hat trick in a season opener. The hat trick was the third of his career and first since October 6 of the 2019 season, where he also faced off against the Rapids. Earlier in that same season, Vela scored a hat trick against the San Jose Earthquakes on March 30. There’s no question as to why he was awarded the 2019 Landon Donovan MLS MVP.
After an injury-shortened 2021 season that limited LAFC forward Carlos Vela to 15 starts and 1,267 minutes, his performance last Saturday was a promising sign for LAFC that the Week 1 MLS Player Of The Week winner is ready to reclaim his dominance. The hat trick tallied up Vela’s total MLS regular season goals to 60.
Each week during the regular season, the MLS Player of the Week is chosen by MLS Communications through a process that includes both media and fan voting. 75 percent of the vote is decided by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR), while the remaining 25% is decided by a Twitter fan poll.
