Forwards
Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy – Back up top, back scoring goals. Donovan, back playing as a forward, added an assist to his first two goals of the season as he became Major League Soccer’s all-time leading scorer, helping his team to a 4-1 win over visiting Philadelphia in the process.
Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy – The captain’s two-goal, two-assist week maintains LA’s curious coincidence. The team remains undefeated when Keane scores, winless when he does not.
We could be wrong about: Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Fabian Espindola (D.C. United)
Midfielders
Federico Higuaín, Columbus Crew – Two perfect passes behind the Chicago defense allowed Columbus to put the Fire away early. The assists also highlighted another Team of the Week-worthy performance from Columbus’s field general.
Diego Fagundez, New England Revolution – For the second week in a row, Fagundez registered a goal and an assist, only instead of being part of a five-goal outburst, Saturday’s performance saw the 19-year-old play a part in both New England goals.
Khari Stephenson, San Jose Earthquakes – Stephenson’s return after one year in Utah has added some much needed variation to San Jose’s midfield. On Sunday, he also added two goals as the Earthquakes beat Houston, both from dead ball situations. A direct kick in the 38th minute sent San Jose into halftime with a lead, while his 58th minute conversion from the spot saw the Jamaican double his 2013 goal total.
Gershon Koffie, Vancouver Whitecaps (pictured) – Saturday’s freakish goal from 35 yards out was the highlight of a monster performance, one that saw Koffie’s midfield dominance translate into seven shots and a 91 percent pass completion percentage. On a less competitive weekend, this would have been a Player of the Week-caliber performance.
We could be wrong about: Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Juninho (LA Galaxy), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew)
Defenders
Cristian Fernandez, D.C. United – After a terrible mistake cost his team two points last weekend, the Spaniard responded with two good performances in Week 12, adding an assist on Fabian Espindola’s goal in New England.
Shane O’Neill, Colorado Rapids – Montréal didn’t give the young Rapid many moments to stand out in defense, but in the 58th minute, the converted midfielder got to make his Team of the Week case at the other end of the field. Finishing from beyond the penalty area following a corner kick, O’Neill scored his first Major League Soccer goal, augmenting a performance that also included a team-high three interceptions.
Chris Schuler, Real Salt Lake – Schuler’s performances have been so consistent, he’s always in the Team of the Week discussion. In lieu of another defender stepping up to take this spot from him, Schuler’s typical, borderline dominant play was enough to make our XI. With seven clearances, six aerial duels won, six interceptions and four tackles, the 26-year-old’s numbers matched his on-field influence, part of the season why Dallas was held scoreless at Rio Tinto.
Tony Beltran, Real Salt Lake – Amid of collection of right back candidates that had trouble distinguishing themselves from each other, Beltran’s performance opposite Fabian Castillo gets our nod. After giving the Galaxy so much trouble mid-week, Castillo was relatively quiet on Saturday, with Beltran’s five interceptions helping Jeff Cassar’s team prevent the Colombian from tying up RSL’s defense.
We could be wrong about: Chris Tierney (New England Revolution), Eric Gehrig (Columbus Crew), Jose Gonçalves (New England Revolution), Zach Loyd (FC Dallas)
Goalkeeper
Steve Clark, Columbus Crew – The consistently strong reads and solid positioning of Clark tend to take this honor whenever somebody doesn’t go Rimando on the league. Without that kind of virtuoso performance, a four-save clean sheet from Clark gives us another opportunity to highlight one of the offseason’s better acquisitions, with the 28-year-old still flying under the radar in Columbus.
We could be wrong about: Donovan Ricketts (Portland Timbers)
