The Portland Timbers won their second match in a row with a 3-2 win over the Montreal Impact Sunday evening. While Diego Valeri had his second straight game-winner, it was Darlington Nagbe's must-see attacking performance that earned MLS Team of the Week (Wk 20) plaudits. Nagbe's skill and dribbling ability were on display throughout the important road victory.
Elsewhere in Cascadia, Bruce Arena's LA Galaxy pounded the Seattle Sounders in the first half, scoring three goals in the first 36 minutes and never turned back in a 3-0 win. This result helped LA place three players on the Team of the Week: Landon Donovan, Omar Gonzalez, and Marcelo Sarvas.
Who else earned a spot on the latest Team of the Week? Read on to find out.
GK: Raúl Fernández (FC Dallas) – He was solid throughout and spectacular late, making a number of incredible saves to help Dallas earn a point in Vancouver.
D: Giancarlo González (Columbus Crew) – Made a number of key plays to stop the Revs attack, especially his pick of Diego Fagundez in the 32nd minute as the Crew won 2-1 at Foxborough.
D: Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) – Came back to MLS with a vengeance, winning everything in the air and even getting in a tussle with two of his USMNT teammates.
D: Chris Schuler (Real Salt Lake) – An absolute monster in the back, he helped RSL come away with a key 3-1 win.
M: Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers) – Terrorized the Impact backline, constantly running with a head of steam and creating chances for his teammates as the Timbers got a nice road win in Montreal.
M: Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City) – Did solid work both offensively and defensively and was a major part of SKC's first goal as they escaped Toronto with a 2-1 win.
M: Marcelo Sarvas (LA Galaxy) – Had his fingerprints all over the Galaxy’s win. He controlled the midfield all night, largely outplaying MLS All-Star Ozzie Alonso.
M: Pedro Morales (Vancouver Whitecaps) – The 'Caps playmaker was strong from the onset, scored on his penalty kick and was involved in almost all of Vancouver’s best attacks.
M: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) – Made his biggest impact in the first 10 minutes and had a goal and assist by the 20th minute as the Galaxy cruised to a win at CenturyLink Field.
F: Yannick Djaló (San Jose Earthquakes) – The Portuguese winger finally had the game we’ve all been waiting for. He was dangerous from minute one to minute 88, coming away with a beautiful chipped goal and two assists as the Earthquakes demolished the Fire 5-1.
F: Gabriel Torres (Colorado Rapids) – Played a role in all three of the Colorado goals, including scoring the third on a nice effort. The Rapids came away with all three points at home against Chivas USA.
Coach: Bruce Arena (LA Galaxy) – The switch back to the 4-4-2 and high press seemed to completely catch the Supporters' Shield leaders by surprise, barely allowing them to breathe in the first half.
Bench:Steve Clark (Columbus Crew), Dan Gargan (LA Galaxy), Dominic Oduro (Toronto FC), Victor Ulloa (FC Dallas), Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake), Olmes García (Real Salt Lake), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
