Photo: Paul Rudderow
Despite the soul-crushing draw to San Jose on Saturday, one player’s stock continued to rise. Yes, opening your MLS goal account 3,000 miles from home will earn you praise, especially when you knock on the assist on the (temporarily) game-winning strike. But Jack Elliott’s Player of the Week honors are for far more than what he did on the scoresheet.
After a rocky start to Saturday’s game, Elliott turned in the type of defensive performance to which Union fans have become accustomed: Stymying out attacks with preternatural instincts, making astute tackles in critical situations, and blocking any and all shots. He finished the night with eight clearances and two blocked shots. What has truly set Elliott apart this season, though, is his delectable range of passing from the back. The weekend’s goal and assist is just icing on the cake. It appears the Union did their homework and got an absolute steal in the MLS Draft for the fourth round pick.
Right now, Elliott looks like a lock for the league’s Rookie of the Year honors.
Which brings us to the quandary facing the Union in the offseason: What the heck happened to Josh Yaro and Keegan Rosenberry this season? Last year’s draft wins have absolutely fallen off a cliff in 2017 (Peter Andrews will have more on that later today). The goal for Philadelphia’s coaching staff this offseason is to make sure the same doesn’t happen to Elliott next year.
Honorable mention
Christian Pulisic
Yeah, scoring the first goal for Borussia Dortmund in the 2017-18 Bundesliga season (after tallying a goal last week in the DFL-Supercup) is pretty solid. The kid from Hershey added an assist just for good measure in a 3-1 victory.
Roland Alberg
The enigmatic Dutchman scored another screamer of a goal from the No. 10 position. He played a more complete game overall, too, setting up Fafa Picault with a terrific pass for what should have been a gimme goal.
Previous Winners
- Week of Feb. 27 – Derrick Jones
- Week of Mar. 6 – Christian Pulisic
- Week of Mar. 13 — Zack Steffen
- Week of Mar. 27 — C.J. Sapong
- Week of Apr. 3 — Seku Conneh
- Week of Apr. 10 — Union U17s
- Week of Apr. 17 — C.J. Sapong
- Week of Apr. 24 — Hugh Roberts
- Week of May 1 — C.J. Sapong
- Week of May 8 — Haris Medunjanin
- Week of May 15 — Haris Medunjanin
- Week of May 22 — Derrick Jones
- Week of May 29 — Andre Blake
- Week of Jun. 5 — Christian Pulisic
- Week of Jun. 12 — Adam Najem
- Week of Jun. 19 — Andre Blake
- Week of Jun. 26 — Jack Elliott
- Week of Jul. 3 — John McCarthy
- Week of Jul. 10 — Alejandro Bedoya
- Week of Jul. 17 – Andre Blake
- Week of Jul. 24 – C.J. Sapong
- Week of Aug. 8 – Ilsinho
It is a pleasure to see Jack play each week. One of the few highlights of this team!
He has made so few missteps this season. Very happy for his goal! And hope he keeps it rolling!