ORLANDO (July 28, 2015) – Orlando City SC forward Cyle Larin was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 21 of the 2015 MLS season.
The first overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft submitted his best performance as a professional against New York City FC on Sunday. Larin recorded the first hat trick in Orlando City SC history between the 58th and 80th minute marks of the second half. The 20-year-old became the second youngest player to net a hat trick in MLS history and joins Dwayne De Rosario and Tesho Akindele as the only Canadians to record hat tricks in League history.
Larin opened the scoring for Orlando City SC in the 50th minute, using his 6’2” frame to muscle around defender Jefferson Mena, corral the ball, and slot it past keeper Josh Saunders for an equalizer. In the 61st minute, OCSC again trailed by a goal and again it was Larin who knotted the score. Carlos Rivas tracked down a perfect thru ball from Darwin Cerén, slipped behind NYCFC’s back line, and connected with Larin on a left-footed cross that the UConn product volleyed home.
With the Lions trailing by two goals in the 84th minute, Larin secured his first career hat trick with his most impressive goal of the afternoon. The rookie received a feed from Kaká, took one touch at the top of the box, and then smashed a right-footed shot into the top right corner of the net.
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
Larin was also nominated for MLS Goal of the Week and named to the MLS Team of the Week.
