RENTON, Wash. - Seattle Sounders FC forward Clint Dempsey was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 5 of the 2014 MLS season.
In Seattle's 4-4 draw against the Portland Timbers on Saturday at Providence Park, Dempsey struck for his first-career hat trick and first three-goal game in MLS this season, including the equalizer in the 87th minute.
Dempsey brought the game level at 2-2 with his first goal of the game in the 24th minute when he collected a pass from Obafemi Martins and scored from the center of the box.
With Sounders FC trailing 4-2 in the 85th minute, Dempsey again collected a pass from Martins in the box and slotted it into the net for his second goal of the match.
Dempsey accomplished his first-career MLS hat trick in the 87th minute when he converted a penalty kick to tie the game at 4-4, completing Seattle's comeback road draw in the opening match of the 2014 Cascadia Cup.
The award marks the first for a Sounders FC player this season and first since Obafemi Martins earned the honors in Week 29 of the 2013 MLS season.
Sounders FC visits FC Dallas on April 12. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. PT at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
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. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.
