Jaime Moreno earned MLS Player of the Week honors for Week 9, as he scored MLS career goals number 98 and 99 on Saturday, May 27 to propel D.C. United to a 3-1 road victory over the Kansas City Wizards.
Moreno won the award by a narrow margin over FC Dallas striker Carlos Ruiz, who notched an assist and the game-winning goal in a road win versus the New York Red Bulls. Moreno's efforts saw D.C. United move five points clear of the second-place Wizards atop the MLS Eastern Conference.
The Bolivian-born forward notched his first goal in the second minute of play, when he snuck behind the Wizard defense to drive home a header off a Christian Gomez free-kick past Kansas City goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi.
In the 18th minute Moreno was called to the penalty spot after Kansas City was whistled for a foul in the penalty area. The League's all-time penalty kick scoring leader wasted no time in driving a ball low into the left-hand corner for his second goal of the night.
The award marks the second time Moreno has been named MLS Player of the Week this season; he previously won the award in Week Two. One of only 10 players to participate in every MLS season since 1996, Moreno has been named MLS Player of the Week six times in his career.
The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA).
2006 Player of the Week Winners
Week 1: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
Week 2: Jaime Moreno (D.C. United)
Week 3: Cornell Glen (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 4: Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United)
Week 5: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 6: Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo)
Week 7: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
Week 8: Jean Philippe Peguero (New York Red Bulls)
Week 9: Jaime Moreno (D.C. United)
