RSL's Morales named Player of Week

Midfielder sparks blistering performance with two assists in Week 6

Major League Soccer Communications

A pair of splendid corner kick deliveries from Javier Morales opened the floodgates. (Frey/Getty )

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NEW YORK -- Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 6 of the 2009 season. Morales sparked a record-tying performance for Real Salt Lake as he recorded two assists in the club's 6-0 victory over the New England Revolution at Rio Tinto Stadium last Saturday.

After a scoreless first half, Morales jumpstarted Real Salt Lake's onslaught with his two assists on the club's first two goals. In the 53rd minute Morales hooked in a low driven corner kick into the New England penalty area where defender Jamison Olave connected with the ball and blasted a powerful header into the top right corner of the goal.

A Morales corner kick led to Real Salt Lake's second goal only two minutes later. The 29-year-old Argentine sent an out-swinging corner kick towards the far post finding an unmarked Clint Mathis at the edge of the six-yard box. Mathis crushed the pass with a powerful left-footed volley that bent perfectly into the upper left corner of the goal.

The two assists were his first and second of the season. RSL's six-goal second half tied the record for most goals in half. The feat had been achieved only twice before in the League's 14-year history (Oct. 26, 2003, Columbus v. Chicago; Aug. 26, 2006, New York v. Real Salt Lake). This was the lone game of the three in which all six goals were scored by different players.

This is the first MLS Player of the Week award for Morales, who hails from Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2008 he recorded 15, second only to MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto (19). Morales' playmaking led Real Salt Lake to their first playoff berth. Prior to joining MLS on August 17, 2007, Morales played for a number of clubs in the Primera Division Argentina including Lanús, Arsenal de Sarandí and Newell's Old Boys.

The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (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/.

2009 MLS Player of the Week Winners

WEEK 1: Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC)
WEEK 2: Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC)
WEEK 3: Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids)
WEEK 4: Donovan Ricketts (Los Angeles Galaxy)
WEEK 5: Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)
WEEK 6: Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake)