Tweet
Real Salt Lake Forward Jeff Cunningham Named MLS Player of the Month for August
Major League Soccer (MLS)
NEW YORK - Real Salt Lake forward Jeff Cunningham was today named Major League Soccer's Player of the Month for August. Cunningham scored four goals and added four assists while helping lead Real Salt Lake to a 4-1-0 record during the month.
Cunningham began the month by netting two goals, his 12th and 13th of the season, and one assist in a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on Aug. 9. He followed up with an assist on Carey Talley's game-winning goal versus Columbus on Aug. 16. On Aug. 19, Cunningham tallied two assists and scored his 14th goal of the season in a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. Real Salt Lake's four-game winning streak ended there, as they dropped their next game on Aug. 26 to the New York Red Bulls, but Cunningham led the team to its fourth and final victory of the month on Aug. 30 as he scored his league-leading 15th goal in a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Cunningham's four goals in August gave him 89 for his career and enabled him to move into sole possession of fourth place in the MLS all-time scoring race. He moved ahead of Roy Lassiter (88 goals) and now only sits behind Ante Razov (98), Jaime Moreno (104) and Jason Kreis (106).
Heading into August, Real Salt Lake sat at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with 20 points and was tied for last place with the Galaxy. After four wins during the month, Real Salt Lake are tied for fourth place with 32 points. They are only two points behind third place Chivas USA and only four points behind second place Houston Dynamo. FC Dallas leads the Western Conference with 42 points.
The Jamaican-born Cunningham is in his ninth season in Major League Soccer. He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Columbus Crew and last season with the Colorado Rapids. He was traded to Real Salt Lake in the off season for Clint Mathis. This is Cunningham's first Player of the Month award. He's been named Player of the Week eight times in his career.
The MLS Player of the Month is selected following the last game of each month throughout the regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA). The PSRA votes among players nominated by their respective teams.
About Major League Soccer
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and features many stars from the U.S. and around the world. Now in its 11th season, the 12 teams in MLS are: the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, Red Bull New York, New England Revolution and Real Salt Lake. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official Web site at www.MLSnet.com.
2006 MLS PLAYER OF THE MONTH WINNERS
April: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
May: Carlos Ruiz (FC Dallas)
June: Jose Burciaga Jr. (Kansas City Wizards)
July: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA)
August: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
Major League Soccer (MLS)
NEW YORK - Real Salt Lake forward Jeff Cunningham was today named Major League Soccer's Player of the Month for August. Cunningham scored four goals and added four assists while helping lead Real Salt Lake to a 4-1-0 record during the month.
Cunningham began the month by netting two goals, his 12th and 13th of the season, and one assist in a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on Aug. 9. He followed up with an assist on Carey Talley's game-winning goal versus Columbus on Aug. 16. On Aug. 19, Cunningham tallied two assists and scored his 14th goal of the season in a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. Real Salt Lake's four-game winning streak ended there, as they dropped their next game on Aug. 26 to the New York Red Bulls, but Cunningham led the team to its fourth and final victory of the month on Aug. 30 as he scored his league-leading 15th goal in a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Cunningham's four goals in August gave him 89 for his career and enabled him to move into sole possession of fourth place in the MLS all-time scoring race. He moved ahead of Roy Lassiter (88 goals) and now only sits behind Ante Razov (98), Jaime Moreno (104) and Jason Kreis (106).
Heading into August, Real Salt Lake sat at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with 20 points and was tied for last place with the Galaxy. After four wins during the month, Real Salt Lake are tied for fourth place with 32 points. They are only two points behind third place Chivas USA and only four points behind second place Houston Dynamo. FC Dallas leads the Western Conference with 42 points.
The Jamaican-born Cunningham is in his ninth season in Major League Soccer. He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Columbus Crew and last season with the Colorado Rapids. He was traded to Real Salt Lake in the off season for Clint Mathis. This is Cunningham's first Player of the Month award. He's been named Player of the Week eight times in his career.
The MLS Player of the Month is selected following the last game of each month throughout the regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA). The PSRA votes among players nominated by their respective teams.
About Major League Soccer
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and features many stars from the U.S. and around the world. Now in its 11th season, the 12 teams in MLS are: the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, Red Bull New York, New England Revolution and Real Salt Lake. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official Web site at www.MLSnet.com.
2006 MLS PLAYER OF THE MONTH WINNERS
April: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
May: Carlos Ruiz (FC Dallas)
June: Jose Burciaga Jr. (Kansas City Wizards)
July: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA)
August: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
