It’s taken a bit of time — roughly six months in his Major League Soccer career — but Matias Perez Garcia, a dynamic, 5-foot-5 attacking midfielder for the San Jose Earthquakes, is really settling into MLS nicely these days.
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In his last four appearances (two wins and two draws for the Earthquakes), Perez Garcia has tallied one goal and three assists. On Saturday, MPG led the ‘Quakes to a shocking 2-0 upset of the (extremely shorthanded) Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field.
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Perez Garcia set up the game’s opening goal (below video), scored by Sanna Nyassi in the 28th minute, and scored a wondergoal of his own in the 73rd minute, when the Argentine attacker weaved his way through the Sounders midfield and defense before cutting inside and floating a delicate shot inside the far post of Stefan Frei. Saturday’s showing was just enough for MPG to edge out David Villa and David Ousted for MLS Player of the Week honors in Week 16.
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
Week 8: Ethan Finlay, Columbus Crew SC
Week 9: Fabian Castillo, FC Dallas
Week 10: Mauro Diaz, FC Dallas
Week 11: Chad Barrett, Seattle Sounders
Week 12: Kei Kamara, Columbus Crew SC
Week 13: Krisztian Nemeth, Sporting Kansas City
Week 14: Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC
Week 15: David Villa, New York City FC
