CHICAGO (April 7, 2015) – Chicago Fire midfielder Shaun Maloney has been voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for the fifth week of the 2015 MLS season after scoring a goal and tallying an assist in the Fire’s 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Toronto FC on Saturday, April 4.
Two of the Fire’s offseason acquisitions combined for a bit of magic early on to take the lead over Toronto in the 14th minute. Chicago’s Joevin Jones won a challenge near the touchline and slid the ball to Maloney, who then played a clever backheel pass back to Jones for a left-footed strike past Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik.
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<b>Shaun Maloney Postmatch Reaction</b> |
After going down 2-1 in the 54th minute, the Scottish Designated Player responded immediately, leveling the match two minutes later. Chicago Homegrown Player Harry Shipp started the play, finding Maloney on the left side of the area. The Scotsman showed some skill with a couple of stepovers before cutting inside and sending a shot through traffic that snuck past Bendik.
The Men in Red sealed all three points in the 68th minute, when Jeff Larentowicz’s curling free kick found the back of the net to make it 3-2.
Earlier in the week, Maloney scored a brace in Scotland’s 6-1 victory over Gibraltar in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying on March 29.
Also honored for his performance in Saturday’s victory against Toronto is defender Joevin Jones, who was named to the MLS Team of the Week. Jones’s opening goal has been nominated for AT&T MLS Goal of the Week. Voting, which runs until 1:59 a.m. CT Friday morning, is available here.
The Men in Red return to action after a bye week when they take on the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo on Saturday, April 18 at 2 p.m. CT (CSN Chicago Plus/ESPN Deports 97.5).
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. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.
