Seattle Reign FC forward Megan Rapinoe has been named Player of the Week for Week 14 by the NWSL Media Association. Megan Rapinoe scored the first, second, and ninth goals of a wild 5-4 win for the Reign over Sky Blue FC at Memorial Stadium last Saturday, including the game winner. Her hat trick was […]

Seattle Reign FC forward Megan Rapinoe has been named Player of the Week for Week 14 by the NWSL Media Association.Megan Rapinoe scored the first, second, and ninth goals of a wild 5-4 win for the Reign over Sky Blue FC at Memorial Stadium last Saturday, including the game winner. Her hat trick was the 12th hat trick in the history of the National Women’s Soccer League, and Rapinoe is now only the second player in the league to tally two hat tricks, along with Portland Thorns FC’s Nadia Nadim. Rapinoe now leads the NWSL in the Golden Boot race, with 12 goals so far this season. She’s played in all 15 matches for Seattle so far this season, and has played almost every minute of every game — logging 1,330 minutes in 2017. [Youtube oembed has failed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2LrZ0j0hcc] Rapinoe was involved in all five of Seattle’s goals on Saturday night, including scoring off a free kick, penalty kick and during open play — the first player in the league to combine those three methods of scoring for the hat trick. She also provided a key pass that led to forward Beverly Yanez’s goal, the third of the match that gave the Reign a 3-0 lead, and then Rapinoe’s cross into the box led to a Sky Blue own goal in the 56th minute to go up 4-0. Rapinoe’s free kick strike from the 27th minute tied for Week 14’s Goal of the Week with Chicago Red Stars forward Christen Press’s first goal against the Orlando Pride. She also was a key part in creating the chance that led to her own penalty kick conversion, setting up Yanez with a pass into the box before Yanez was fouled and awarded the PK. Rapinoe provided the game-wining goal in the 87th minute. Defender Carson Pickett sent in a ball over the top which forward Katie Johnson controlled. Johnson and Rapinoe wove through the Sky Blue back line with some give-and-go passing, and Rapinoe one-timed it into the upper 90 with her left foot for the final goal of the game. According to Opta, she finished the match with six shots, with three on target. Her influence on the game was clear in the scoreline and in the statistics, as she led the Reign in touches on the ball with 83. The Player of the Week honor for Week 14 is the fourth time Rapinoe has won the award, and her second time this season. She previously won in Week 11 after scoring four goals in two games. Rapinoe is now the fifth player to win Player of the Week at least four times. The NWSL Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis. For more information on the NWSL Media Association, follow them on Twitter.