CHICAGO(Oct. 17, 2017) – Chicago Fire forward Nemanja Nikolic was voted the Alcatel MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for the 32
nd
week of the 2017 MLS season.
Nikolic scored his first MLS hat trick to complete Chicago’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Union at Toyota Park on Sunday. The Hungarian international leads the Golden Boot race with 24 goals, tied for the sixth-highest total in league history. With eight goals scored over the previous six games, Nikolic has the Fire sitting third in the Eastern Conference standings (55 points, 16-10-7 overall record).
Watch | Nikolic's hat trick from every angle
Nikolic opened the scoring just three minutes in to the game after chasing down a beautiful long ball by teammate Brandon Vincent. After dribbling into the box, Nikolic slotted a shot past Union goalkeeper Andre Blake for a 1-0 Fire advantage.
Philadelphia climbed back with a pair of strikes in the first half for a 2-1 lead, but the Chicago forward was given a chance from the penalty spot in the 64
th
minute to equalize the score at 2-2. The Fire finished the match when Vincent squared a ball into the middle of the box in the 78
th
minute and Nikolic smashed it home to complete his hat trick. Nikolic’s five game-winning goals this season rank tied for third in the league.
Nikolic also garnered Player of the Week honors in weeks 7 and 18 of the MLS season, and was named Player of the Month for May.
The Chicago Fire travel to face the Houston Dynamo in the regular season finale at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Chicago Plus/ESPN Deportes/Univision Chicago 1200AM).
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
