MLS Team of the Week: Vancouver Trio Headline League's Best from Week 5
After four weeks of mostly lackluster matches, Major League Soccer came to life in Week 5 with plenty of exciting contests.
One of the top performances of the weekend came from the Vancouver Whitecaps, who dominated the LA Galaxy on their way to claiming the top spot in the Supporters' Shield table.
Vancouver's two rivals to the south also starred in Week 5, with Portland and Seattle both earning key victories. As such, two Timbers and one Sounder also feature in the MLS Team of the Week.
Although certain positions did possess more quality than others, we decided to align our team in a 4-4-2 formation because of a few standout performers at other spots on the pitch.
Continue reading for the complete list of the best players from Week 5 in MLS.
GK: Bill Hamid, D.C. United
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The top goalkeeper in Week 5 was D.C. United's Bill Hamid, who made five saves in his side's 1-0 victory over Orlando City on Friday.
The five denials allowed D.C., outplayed by the hosts for most of the match, to stay in the game at the Citrus Bowl.
Thanks to Hamid's exploits between the pipes, United stole a late victory through a 91st-minute Luis Silva free-kick.
Hamid's five stops matched his season high from Week 3.
RB: Tony Beltran, Real Salt Lake
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Tony Beltran was a part of a Real Salt Lake back four that limited the San Jose Earthquakes to three shots on goal at Avaya Stadium on Sunday night.
The 27-year-old American made five tackles, five interceptions and four clearances against a San Jose attack with plenty of dangerous weapons.
Beltran restricted the left-sided pairing of Innocent Emeghara and Matias Perez Garcia to four shots, none of which were on target.
CB: Brad Evans, Seattle Sounders
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Another Western Conference team who won 1-0 and limited its opponent to a small amount of shots on target was the Seattle Sounders.
Converted center-back Brad Evans played a key role in silencing the Houston Dynamo attack at CenturyLink Field on Saturday night, recording 10 clearances and five tackles.
Even when the Sounders went down to 10 men after Gonzalo Pineda's red card, Evans held strong next to Chad Marshall, who is known as one of the top defensive rocks in the league.
Evans will face his biggest test yet in Week 6, when Seattle travels to StubHub Center to face the LA Galaxy.
CB: Kendall Waston, Vancouver Whitecaps
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Speaking of the Galaxy, their offense was shut down by Vancouver's Kendall Waston at BC Place on Saturday.
The towering Costa Rican silenced the LA duo of Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes for most of the 2-0 Vancouver win. Neither starting forward took a shot during the game.
Waston ended the match with seven aerial duels won, 11 clearances and nine interceptions.
LB: Joevin Jones, Chicago Fire
5 of 12Joevin Jones barely beat out Brek Shea for the left-back spot in this week's Best 11.
The difference between the two defenders was Jones' 14th-minute opener in the Chicago Fire's 3-2 win over Toronto FC.
Jones played a splendid give-and-go with Shaun Maloney on the left wing before he sprinted into the box and fired a shot past Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik.
The goal was the first of Jones' MLS career. He earned his first assist against San Jose during Week 3.
RM: Harry Shipp, Chicago Fire
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Harry Shipp's terrific start to the 2015 season continued on Saturday, as he provided the Fire with two assists in the home triumph over Toronto.
In the 56th minute, Shipp lofted a ball from the right wing over to Shaun Maloney, who then proceeded to level the match at two goals apiece. Twelve minutes later, he laid the ball off to Jeff Larentowicz on the center-back's game-winning goal.
Shipp also contributed two shots on target and two key passes in Chicago's second victory of the year.
CM: Russell Teibert, Vancouver Whitecaps
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Not only do the Whitecaps possess some of the top young attackers in the league, they also boast some terrific defensive standouts.
Russell Teibert drove that point home in the 2-0 win over the Galaxy, as he was a major cog in the defensive machine that silenced Keane and Zardes.
The 22-year-old Canadian made seven interceptions, three tackles and converted 91.7 percent of his 60 passes for the Supporters' Shield leader.
CM: Diego Chara, Portland Timbers
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Diego Chara finished off an impressive showing at Providence Park with a superb individual effort on his 87th-minute strike.
The Colombian darted from midfield and slotted the ball past FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz to seal Portland's 3-1 win.
On the defensive side of the pitch, Chara made five tackles and two clearances during the Timbers' first win of the season.
LM: Kekuta Manneh, Vancouver Whitecaps
9 of 12After watching his teammates shut down the Galaxy for 55 minutes, Kekuta Manneh rewarded them by scoring the game's opener in the 56th minute.
Manneh received a pass on the left wing from Pedro Morales, danced around LA center-back Tommy Meyer and powered his shot into the back of the net.
The 20-year-old midfielder produced the most shots of any Vancouver player with seven, and he contributed a key pass in his side's fourth win of 2015.
FW: Fernando Aristeguieta, Philadelphia Union
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Before the Philadelphia Union collapsed in the final minutes at Sporting Park on Sunday night, Fernando Aristeguieta impressed with his power in the box.
The on-loan forward outmuscled Sporting Kansas City center-back Matt Besler in the 19th minute and headed home the Union's second goal of the first half.
Aristeguieta, who will get criticized for his lack of speed on a late second-half breakaway, put two of his four shots on target in a game that looked set to be a Philadelphia victory before stoppage time.
FW: Maximiliano Urruti, Portland Timbers
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Maximiliano Urruti's 62nd-minute flick at the right post electrified the crowd at Providence Park as Portland earned its second lead of the night against FC Dallas.
Urruti cut in front of Walker Zimmerman and got on the end of a Dairon Asprilla pass with his left boot during a key sequence in Portland's victory over the Hoops.
The 24-year-old Argentinian also made the most of the rest of his 32 touches, as all three of his shots hit the target.
Bench
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GK: Adam Kwarasey (Portland Timbers)
CB: Jeff Larentowicz (Chicago Fire)
CB: Nat Borchers (Portland Timbers)
LB: Brek Shea (Orlando City)
CM: Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake)
FW: Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution)
FW: Obafemi Martins (Seattle Sounders)
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from MLSSoccer.com and WhoScored.com.
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