Ethan Finlay has had a great week.
The Crew SC midfielder notched two goals and an assist against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, was voted Barbasol Man of the Match by the Black & Gold faithful, named to the MLS Team of the Week, selected player of the week, and found himself on the FIFA15 Ultimate Team of the Week.
Yet, Finlay prefers to talk about his teammates instead.
“It’s a great accolade but it’s just one week,” he said. “It’s a long, long season and I’m looking forward to continuing to work off that. It’s a great honor but I couldn’t have done it without the setups that we had.
“Kei [Kamara]’s setup was pretty special and obviously he was recognized on Team of the Week as well, and so was Waylon [Francis]. We have plenty of guys that are going to be on it throughout the season and I am just one of them.”
As little attention Finlay is paying to his accolades, as little did he worry about his goal-scoring drought earlier in the season. His goals against Philadelphia were his first of the campaign.
“I knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time,” Finlay said. “Now, it’s about building on that. There’s a lot more work to do and we go from here.”
Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said the technical staff has been satisfied with Finlay’s performance all along.
“He hasn’t necessarily been getting the goals but we have been happy with the way he’s been playing. And now to get the goals and assists, it validates all of that,” he said.
“But the coaching staff didn’t need that to know how hard he’s been working and the impact he was having. But it’s naturally good for his confidence and it’s nice for the team to get those awards.”
Finlay has scored 13 career goals for Crew SC since May 17, 2014 in Portland. Over that span, only six other MLS players have scored more (Bradley Wright-Phillips, Obafemi Martins, Dominic Dwyer, Gyasi Zardes, Robbie Keane and Lee Nguyen).
In addition, Finlay has 11 career assists since May 31, 2014. Only three players have exceeded his total in that category over the same period (Landon Donovan, Marcelo Sarvas, Pedro Morales). His four assists this season tie him for second in the League.
But Finlay is not one to pay a lot of attention to these stats. He’s more concerned with the tasks ahead, which include Saturday’s match versus D.C. United. Finlay said the team’s confidence is “extremely high,” and made it clear what the Black & Gold are hoping to get out of the trip to Washington.
“They are above us in the standings and we want to be the best team in the East,” the League’s best player of the week said.
Crew SC and D.C. United kick-off at RFK Stadium at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. Catch the action on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, CD102.5 or 103.1 La Mega.
