Major League Soccer on Monday named Raúl Ruidíaz its Week 6 Player of the Week for his heroic efforts in Seattle’s dominant 3-0 win over the Portland Timbers on Sunday night. In addition to his two goals – the first of which was a physics-defying first-time shot into the top corner that earned a Goal of the Week nomination – Ruidíaz also notched the assist on Kelvin Leerdam’s late score in the 85th minute.
After a cagey first half, in which the Sounders generated some half chances but were unable to capitalize, the match burst open when Ruidíaz supplied an individual moment of magic in the 72nd minute to open the scoring. The Peruvian scoring machine then completed his brace ten minutes later, and effectively iced the match with his clever assist to Leerdam.
Despite the stop-start nature of the 2020 MLS campaign, Ruidíaz has already tallied four goals and one assist from six regular season matches. With the win over Portland, the Sounders climbed into second place in the Western Conference standings ahead of a grueling five-game schedule.