MLS Team of the Week: Keane Shines Once Again in Week 20

Joe TanseyJul 20, 2015

Major League Soccer witnessed quite the wild weekend, as six red cards were handed out across 10 games played over three days.

Luckily for the league, some outstanding individual play trumped most of the conversation surrounding the dismissals. The top attacking showing came from the LA Galaxy in Steven Gerrard's home league debut. Although Gerrard scored, it was Robbie Keane who once again stole the show.

Saturday saw a few of the league's best creative players put on magnificent displays across eight different stadiums. Leading the charge were Diego Valeri and Javier Morales, who both helped their respective sides earn points in Week 20.

Because of the plethora of great attacking performances, we put no constraints on our midfield requirements this week. That means two wingers and two centralized players were selected to our 4-4-2 formation regardless of where they were aligned on the pitch.

Continue reading to see who was named into the latest MLS Team of the Week.

GK: Clint Irwin, Colorado Rapids

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The Colorado Rapids pulled off the most surprising result of Week 20, as they went into CenturyLink Field and defeated Seattle 1-0.

Goalkeeper Clint Irwin made three saves to preserve one of the four clean sheets earned on Saturday night across the league. His most impressive denial came in the 47th minute on Lamar Neagle. As the Sounders forward broke through a pair of defenders, his shot seemed destined for goal, but Irwin used quick reflexes to turn away the shot.

The win extended Colorado's winning streak to three games. Next up for Pablo Mastroeni's side is an August 1 match with the LA Galaxy.

RB: Connor Lade, New York Red Bulls

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Connor Lade is not the first-choice player at right back for the New York Red Bulls, but he certainly played like one in the 2-0 win over Orlando City.

Lade, who was filling in for Chris Duvall and Kemar Lawrence on Saturday, made five interceptions and four tackles for the second-placed side in the Eastern Conference.

The 25-year-old will certainly see more action in the next week, as the Red Bulls host Philadelphia in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday and then face Chelsea at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday.

CB: Jared Watts, Colorado Rapids

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Irwin wasn't the only member of the Colorado defense to turn in a solid 90-minute shift on Saturday night. Center back Jared Watts helped hold the Sounders to three shots on target in the Rapids' 1-0 win.

The 23-year-old made five clearances, three interceptions and two tackles in the club's fifth victory of the season.

On top of his defensive contributions, Watts also earned an assist on Kevin Doyle's game-winning goal in the 84th minute.

CB: Nat Borchers, Portland Timbers

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There are plenty of reasons to love the play of Nat Borchers in the Portland Timbers defense, but fans of the Timbers had one specific moment to thank him for on Saturday.

In the 27th minute of the Cascadia Cup clash with Vancouver, Borchers raced to the goal line and turned away a Kekuta Manneh shot from the right side of the box. That clearance turned out to be vital for Caleb Porter's team in the 1-1 draw.

Borchers also blocked four shots and won a pair of aerial battles against one of Portland's top rivals.

LB: Ryan Hollingshead, FC Dallas

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Normally when we praise the explosiveness on the FC Dallas left wing, we are talking about the pace of Fabian Castillo. But this week, Ryan Hollingshead added another dimension to the Hoops attack from left back.

Facing a dangerous D.C. United forward line, Hollingshead did well with selecting the right time to surge up the field from the back four. That activity resulted in 63 touches and two key passes.

Although he may only be at left back until Je-Vaughn Watson returns from the Gold Cup, Hollingshead proved on Saturday that he can bring plenty of versatility to Oscar Pareja's side.

AM: Joao Plata, Real Salt Lake

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Normally, we see Joao Plata wreak havoc on an opposing defense from the forward position, but because of the form of Sebastian Jaime, he started on the left of Real Salt Lake's 4-2-3-1 against Houston Dynamo on Saturday.

In that 2-0 win at Rio Tinto Stadium, the 5'2" attacker netted his first goal of the season in 65th minute. To find space to shoot in box, Plata used his speed to race past a few defenders from left to right.

The Ecuadorian also dished out his third assist of the campaign on Javier Morales' opener.

CM: Matias Laba, Vancouver Whitecaps

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Rarely do we see any offensive threat from Vancouver holding midfielder Matias Laba. With plenty of quality forwards in the squad, all Laba usually has to do is clean up the area in front of the back four.

In the 57th minute of the Whitecaps' draw in Portland, Laba unleashed a laser of a strike from 40 yards out into the back of the net. The unexpected goal earned the Whitecaps a valuable point in their quest for the Cascadia Cup.

On the defensive end of the pitch, Laba put in his typical work rate with six tackles and five interceptions.

CAM: Javier Morales, Real Salt Lake

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When Morales is at his best in the RSL midfield, he is fun to watch. That is exactly what occurred in the Claret and Cobalt's win over the Dynamo on Saturday.

The Argentinian designated player led everyone on the pitch in touches, 93, and he also handed out six key passes for Jeff Cassar's team.

With Morales and Plata rounding into form around Jaime in the RSL attack, we could see more games like Saturday's in the near future out of the trio.

AM: Diego Valeri, Portland Timbers

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Diego Valeri ran rampant on Saturday night at Providence Park against the Whitecaps. The top moment produced by the Argentinian came in the 33rd minute, when he netted the lone Timbers goal.

Valeri received a pass from Fanendo Adi on the right side of the box and proceeded to have a go at goal from a tight angle. After he saw a small pocket of space between David Ousted and the right post, Valeri fired in his second goal of the season.

By the time the final whistle blew, Valeri had earned team highs in touches, shots and key passes.

FW: Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy

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No one knew then, but when Keane knocked his penalty into the bottom-right part of the net in the 30th minute, he sparked a run of five unanswered Galaxy goals.

Keane put the Galaxy ahead for good in the 64th minute, connecting with a Gerrard free-kick at the near post. In the 80th minute, the Irishman completed his hat-trick from the spot to hand LA a two-goal advantage.

In an attack with an embarrassment of riches, Keane put all four of his shots on target on the way to his second consecutive three-goal match.

FW: Quincy Amarikwa, San Jose Earthquakes

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Before the Galaxy woke up and tore the San Jose defense to shreds, Quincy Amarikwa put the visiting Earthquakes ahead with two quick strikes.

The midseason acquisition from the Chicago Fire opened the scoring in the seven-goal California Clasico in the 22nd minute, as he one-timed Sanna Nyassi's pass past LA goalkeeper Brian Rowe. Three minutes later, he benefited from a mess in the box off a Matias Perez Garcia free-kick to poke in his second.

Although the final result wasn't what Amarikwa envisioned after the hot start, it is a positive sign for the Earthquakes, who are looking for someone to complement Chris Wondolowski up top.