Obafemi Martins has caught fire in the last four weeks and he made MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week for the third time in that stretch. Martins scored his 13th goal of the season in helping Sounders FC to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Real Salt Lake on Friday night, earning a spot on Team of the Week for the fifth time this season.
Martins was joined on Team of the Week by goalkeeper Joe Bendik (Toronto FC); defenders Jamison Olave (New York Red Bulls), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) and Matt Hedges (FC Dallas); midfielders Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City), Victor Ulloa (FC Dallas), Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact) and Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution); and forwards Blas Perez (FC Dallas) and Andrew Wenger (Philadelphia Union).
Sounders FC’s representatives on Team of the Week have been:
Week 1: DeAndre Yedlin.
Week 3: Djimi Traore.
Week 5: Clint Dempsey.
Week 6: Clint Dempsey, Sigi Schmid.
Week 7: Obafemi Martins, Chad Marshall.
Week 8: Clint Dempsey, Sigi Schmid.
Week 9: Chad Marshall.
Week 11: Obafemi Martins.
Week 13: Marco Pappa, Sigi Schmid.
Week 14: Lamar Neagle.
Week 16: Gonzalo Pineda.
Week 18: Chad Marshall, Marco Pappa.
Week 24: Chad Marshall, Obafemi Martins.
Week 25: Zach Scott.
Week 26: Obafemi Martins.
Week 27: Obafemi Martins.
PAPPA EARNS COPA CENTROAMERICANA GOLDEN BALL
Sounders FC midfielder Marco Pappa earned the Golden Ball for the tournament’s most outstanding player and the Golden Boot for the top scorer at the 2014 Copa Centroamericana, leading Guatemala to the tournament final with four goals in three matches in the group stage.
Guatemala fell 2-1 in the final to Costa Rica, sending Los Ticos to the 2015 Copa America and putting Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Pappa rejoined Sounders FC in training at PPL Park on Monday and is available for selection on Tuesday when Seattle meets the Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup final.
ACADEMY OPENS HOME SLATE SATURDAY
Sounders FC’s Youth Academy teams play their first home matches of the season this weekend against Strikers and Pateadores on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at Starfire. The U-18s will kick off at 11:30 am PT for both matches, followed by the U-16s at 2 pm PT.
The U-18 and U-16 Academy teams opened their seasons on Saturday against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, with the U-18s falling 3-2 and the U-16s playing to a 1-1 draw.
