FC Dallas’ Roland Lamah seemed to be a step ahead of Real Salt Lake in the first half Saturday. (Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports)
NEW YORK – FC Dallas midfielder Roland Lamah was voted the MLS player of the week by the North American Soccer Reporters for Week 14, it was announced Tuesday.
Lamah recorded a hat-trick in FC Dallas’s 6-2 victory over Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Toyota Stadium, with the club becoming the first team in MLS history to score five goals in a first half.
With his first multi-goal effort in MLS, Lamah has four goals and one assist this season, with all four scores occurring over the previous three matches. Dallas (6-2-5, 23 points) sits tied for second in the Western Conference.
The 29-year-old midfielder put Dallas ahead 1-0 in the eighth minute with an easy left-footed tap in from in front of goal off a Michael Barrios pass. Lamah added his second goal in the 22nd minute to double the lead. The Belgium international took a Maxi Urruti pass in the center of the box and beat goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel with a left-footed shot to the bottom left corner of goal.
Lamah completed his hat-trick in the 31st minute for a 3-0 advantage, receiving Carlos Gruezo’s pass and firing a left-footed shot from the top of the box. Van Oekel made a diving deflection but Lamah’s shot proved too powerful and found the back of the net. Lamah’s feat equaled the second-fastest hat trick from the start of a game in MLS history.
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from the NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
