Ethan Finlay is, easily, one of the best players in Major League Soccer that you probably don’t know about. 11 goals and 7 assists in 2014 signified the 24-year-old’s breakout season, and eight weeks into Columbus Crew SC’s 2015 campaign, Finlay only looks set to improve upon last year’s impressive haul.
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On Saturday, Finlay put in his best professional performances, when he ran Philadelphia Union left back Fabinho ragged for 90 minutes, scoring two goals (the first of which can be seen above, the second below) and setting up another in the process.
With center forward Kei Kamra now the focal point of Crew SC’s attack, expect Finlay’s goals scored to drop just a tad, but his assist numbers to skyrocket as an increasingly key cog in the team’s four-headed attacking monster — Kamara, Finlay, Federico Higuain and Justin Meram.
[ MORE: MLS Team of the Week — Week 8 — Finlay, Jozy, Kamara and more ]
Rumor has it that Fabinho tried to catch some Z’s on the Union’s short flight back to Philly, but kept waking up in a cold sweat after nightmares of Finlay racing past him played over and over again in his head.
MLS Players of the Week
Week 1: Tyler Deric, Houston Dynamo
Week 2: Chris Wondolowski, San Jose Earthquakes
Week 3: Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
Week 4: Kaka, Orlando City SC
Week 5: Harrison Shipp, Chicago Fire
Week 6: Jaime Penedo, LA Galaxy
Week 7: Fabian Castillo, FC Dallas