Columbus Crew SC midfieldersFederico Higuain and Niko Hanseneach garnered MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week nods for their respective offensive contributions last week, per a League announcement on Monday afternoon.
Higuain earned his fifth nomination of the season following his instrumental contributions in Crew SC's 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. The midfielder provided the game-opening assist to Gyasi Zardesbefore taking matters into his own hands with the game-winning goal in the second half. On the night, Higuain created four chances with 70 total passes for an 83 percent passing accuracy, as Saturday marked his fifth goal and team-high eighth assist of the season.
Hansen's two-goal performance in a 3-2 road defeat at Portland marked his second and third goals in last four games prior to the Colorado match. Notably, Hansen's brace against the Timbers equaled his career total from his first 30 League appearances. The second-year Crew SC player created two scoring chances and totaled a game-high three shots on target against Portland en route to his first MLSsoccer.com nod of the season.
Columbus returns to MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 29 to face the Philadelphia Union in a battle between the Eastern Conference's fourth- and fifth-place teams, with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Crew SC's 2018 MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week honorees:
Week 1: Lalas Abubakar (D), Federico Higuain (M), Milton Valenzuela (D)
Week 2: Gyasi Zardes (F - Bench)
Week 3: N/A
Week 4: Gregg Berhalter (coach), Federico Higuain (M), Cristian Martinez (M), Pedro Santos (M - bench), Milton Valenzuela (D)
Week 5: N/A
Week 6: N/A
Week 7: N/A
Week 8: N/A
Week 9: Mike Grella (M - bench)
Week 10: Lalas Abubakar (D), Milton Valenzuela (D - bench)
Week 11: Gregg Berhalter (coach), Gyasi Zardes (F), Zack Steffen (GK - bench)
Week 12: Jonathan Mensah (D)
Week 13: Artur (M), Josh Williams (D)
Week 14: Federico Higuain (M)
Week 15: Harrison Afful (D)
Week 16: N/A
Week 17: N/A
Week 18: Eduardo Sosa (M)
Week 19: N/A
Week 20: N/A
Week 21: Wil Trapp (M)
Week 22: Harrison Afful (D), Patrick Mullins (F - bench)
Week 24: Gyasi Zardes (F), Federico Higuain (M - bench), Milton Valenzuela (D- bench)
Week 25: N/A
Week 26: N/A
Week 27: Harrison Afful (D), Justin Meram (M - bench)
Week 28: N/A
Week 29: Jonathan Mensah (D)
Week 30: Federico Higuain (M), Niko Hansen (M - bench)
