Real Salt Lake Forward Jefferson Savarino Voted MLS Player of the Week
NEW YORK
(Monday, July 15, 2019)
– Real Salt Lake forward Jefferson Savarino was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 19
th
week of the 2019 MLS season.
Real Salt Lake defeated the Philadelphia Union 4-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday behind a dominant performance from Savarino who finished with two goals and an assist. Savarino has tallied five goals and two assists this season. RSL sits sixth in the Western Conference with 29 points (9-9-2 overall record).
The Venezuela National Team star gave Real Salt Lake an early 1-0 lead in the 23
rd
minute when he slipped behind the defense and controlled a long-range pass with a deft touch. The 22-year-old Savarino collected the ball inside the box and fired off a left-footed shot to the right side of goal (
watch goal
).
Savarino then scored his second goal of the match to extend RSL’s lead to 2-0 in the 71
st
minute when he rocketed a right-footed shot from outside the box to the left of goal (
watch goal
). Real Salt Lake furthered its lead to 3-0 in the 81
st
minute when Savarino dispossessed a Union player just outside the box and sent a backwards flick to Albert Rusnák who finished with a screamer just inside the right post (
watch assist
).
RSL returns to action on Saturday when hosting Minnesota United FC (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
