Major League Soccer and MLSsoccer.com announced the Week 17 Team of the Week on Monday, naming Columbus Crew SC midfielder Federico Higuain to the team and forwards Ola Kamara and Kekuta Manneh to the bench. Higuain scored the 47th and 48th goals of his MLS career on June 24 against the Montreal Impact, while both Manneh and Kamara scored in the 4-1 victory as well.
Higuain's masterful free kick in the 17th minute opened the match's scoring. The in-form DP bent a swerving ball off the top of Montreal's wall and into the back of the net from about 24 yards out, shaded just to the right of goal. He struck again in the 88th minute to put the match on ice in front of nearly 17,000 supporters at MAPFRE Stadium.
The Team of the Week honor is the third of Higuain's 2017 campaign.
Manneh earned his first Team of the Week honor since joining Crew SC after substituting into the match in the 69th minute. He opened his Black & Gold scoring account just seconds later, in the 70th minute, when he sliced into the Impact penalty box and buried a point-blank layoff by Kamara. It was Manneh's 23rd goal of his MLS career and first since June 25, 2016 — with almost exactly one year coming between goals. Manneh returned the favor and assisted Kamara's goal just two minutes later.
Kamara earned his first Team of the Week honor thanks to his 72nd minute goal and his assist on Manneh's game-winner. The strike cemented a milestone in the Norwegian's career: it was his 25th goal in just 42 MLS appearances since 2016.
Crew SC next hosts MLS-expansion side Atlanta United FC on July 1 at MAPFRE Stadium. The match will celebrate Military Appreciation Night while featuring post-match fireworks in honor of the upcoming July 4 holiday.
The Black & Gold welcome German Bundesliga-side and DFB Pokal-finalist Eintracht Frankfurt to MAPFRE Stadium for an international friendly on Monday, July 17. The match is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
