When rivals meet, it's on every player to step up their performances to meet the atmosphere.
On Sunday, Matt Miazga and Darlington Nagbe did just that.
At Yankee Stadium, the 19-year-old Miazga turned in a sterling performance against one of the toughest strikers to mark in the league. The U-20 World Cup star tracked David Villa all night, giving the legendary Spaniard very little space to operate. Miazga finished off his night with a set-piece goal, his first in MLS, that put away the home side for good.
Across the country, Nagbe put it all together for the Portland Timbers. He was dangerous attacking the Seattle Sounders' back line, constantly putting them under pressure. He scored a howitzer of a goal to start off the night and followed it up with an assist to Fanendo Adi on the Nigerian's game-winning goal.
Read on to find out who else made the Team of the Week for Week 17:
GK: David Ousted (Vancouver Whitecaps) - Eight saves and a handful of Save of the Week candidates says it all: He saved the win for Vancouver.
D: Chance Myers (Sporting Kansas City) - In his first MLS game back from a torn Achilles last May, Myers provided an assist on Sporting's first goal and was strong defensively in SKC's 2-0 win.
D: Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls) – Helped the Red Bulls keep a clean sheet, albeit against a shorthanded RSL team, then took a star turn on Sunday, shutting down David Villa and scoring the clincher.
D: Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes) - Scored his first MLS goal in almost eight years – a winner in the California Clasico, no less – and helped San Jose neutralize a Galaxy attack that had scored 10 goals in their last two games.
D: Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United) – Two games and two shutouts for this defender. First, Birnbaum played right back on Wednesday night against the Fire, and then he moved to his natural position at center back and shut down TFC's vicious attack.
M: Ethan Finlay (Columbus Crew SC) – One goal and two assists this week for the right midfielder, and he leads the league in assists with 10 despite a broken toe.
M: Victor Ulloa (FC Dallas) – Was active and didn't give the ball away in the Texas Derby. He also made a ridiculous cross-field pass to get Fabián Castillo into position to score the team's second goal.
M: Juninho (LA Galaxy) – Was integral in the Galaxy's 5-0 stomping of the Timbers on Wednesday night and then scored an absolute golazo in the team's loss at San Jose.
M: Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers) – Had a rough night in LA but followed it up with his best performance of the season at home against the Sounders in the Timbers' 4-1 win.
F: C.J. Sapong (Philadelphia Union) – Scored the winner against Seattle on Wednesday night and followed it up with some strong hold-up play, including an assist, against the Montreal Impact on Saturday night as the Union drew the Impact 2-2.
F: Kei Kamara (Columbus Crew SC) - Both goals in Crew SC's 2-1 win over the Revolution were scored by Kamara, the league's leading goalscorer, and he also provided the assist on Finlay's equalizer against RSL.
Coach: Jesse Marsch (New York Red Bulls) - Doesn't get much better than this week for Marsch, as he led his team to two wins, including a come-from-behind victory over NYCFC.
Bench:Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Matías Pérez García (San Jose Earthquakes), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Fabián Castillo (FC Dallas), Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC), Fanendo Adi (Portland Timbers)
