Portland Timbers defender Alvas Powell, among the league leaders in tackles won and dribbles completed, continued his strong season with a spot on the MLSsoccer.com Week 23 Team of the Week joining the likes of Sebastian Giovinco, Kei Kamara, Benny Feilhaber, Robbie Keane.
Powell, who played the full 90, was part of a Timbers backline that produced the club's MLS-leading 10th clean sheet of the 2015 season.
Giovinco recorded his second hat trick in MLS in Toronto FC's 4-1 win over Orlando City midweek and followed it up with an assist against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. Kamara re-took the scoring lead from Giovinco by netting twice against the Colorado Rapids in Crew SC's 2-1 win. Feilhaber scored a goal and collected an assist in Sporting KC's win over Toronto, while Keane did the same in the Galaxy's win over Seattle.
Read on to find out who else made the Team of the Week for Week 23:
GK: Bill Hamid (D.C. United) – Came back from multiple injuries to show why he was the 2014 Goalkeeper of the Year, as he stonewalled a barrage of shots in United's historic victory over Montreal.
D: Alvas Powell (Portland Timbers) – Had a solid game, especially on the defensive end, as Portland posted another shutout, this time in a win over Chicago.
D: Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls) – Limited the Impact's chances on Wednesday night, then put David Villa in his hip pocket for most of the night in the Red Bulls' season sweep of New York City FC.
D: Kevin Ellis (Sporting Kansas City) – Facing an MVP frontrunner and a USMNT regular isn't an easy task, but Ellis made it look like it was in SKC's 3-1 win over Toronto.
D: DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo) – Got a goal for the Dynamo and looked good going forward all match. His pace gave San Jose fits in the Dynamo's 2-1 win.
M: Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City) – Delivered beautiful passes throughout SKC's win while adding a penalty kick goal and an assist to Krisztian Németh on the game-winner.
M: Dax McCarty (New York Red Bulls) – Showed why he has been the best defensive midfielder in MLS this season in two outstanding performances against Montreal and NYCFC. And did you see him shrug off Pirlo?
M: Cristian Techera (Vancouver Whitecaps) – Broke out for two goals in the Whitecaps' trouncing of an undermanned RSL side.
F: Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) – Played a pivotal role in the Galaxy's last two goals against Seattle, capitalizing on a loose ball in the box for the winner and setting up Giovani Dos Santos' first MLS goal with a terrific pass.
F: Kei Kamara (Columbus Crew SC) – Not only did he score two goals, but he was once denied by a great sliding effort, had another hit the crossbar and drew two yellow cards on defender Axel Sjöberg in Columubus' 2-1 win.
F: Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC) – Continued his MVP season with three goals against Orlando on Wednesday, then added an assist in TFC's loss to Sporting on Saturday.
Coach: Jesse Marsch (New York Red Bulls) – 3 games. 9 points. That's how Marsch handled Jason Kreis and NYCFC in 2015, as the former Impact head coach showed why he should be considered for Coach of the Year.
Bench:Tally Hall (Orlando City), Jimmy Medranda (Sporting Kansas City), Jordan Harvey (Vancouver Whitecaps), Connor Lade (New York Red Bulls), Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew SC), Felipe (New York Red Bulls), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy)
