New York City FC Forward Valentín Castellanos Voted MLS Player of the Week
NEW YORK
(November 2, 2020)
– New York City FC forward Valentín Castellanos was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 22
nd
week of the 2020 MLS season.
Castellanos scored a hat trick, the first of his MLS career, and added an assist to help NYCFC defeat rivals New York Red Bulls 5-2 at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. The 22-year-old now has five goals and two assists across 21 matches played this season. NYCFC is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 36 points (11-8-3 overall record) and has already clinched a spot in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
NYCFC took a 1-0 lead in the 12
th
minute when Castellanos finished a Maxi Moralez cross into the box with a header just inside the left post (
watch goal
). Following a pair of Red Bulls goals, Castellanos assisted on Gary Mackay-Stevens goal with a backwards flick in the 42
nd
minute to even the match at 2-2 heading into the half (
watch assist
).
The Argentina U-23 National Team member scored his second goal of the match to push NYCFC’s advantage to 4-2 in the 76
th
minute, this time linking with Jesús Medina and finishing with a right footed shot from inside the box into the upper right corner of goal (
watch goal
). Castellanos completed his hat trick to give NYCFC a 5-2 lead in the 84
th
minute when he buried a penalty kick goal (
watch goal
).
NYCFC concludes regular season action on MLS Decision Day 2020 presented by AT&T this Sunday when traveling to face Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field (3:30 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.
