Real Salt Lake FW Movsisyan named MLS Player of the Week
July 27, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release
SANDY, Utah (Monday, July 27, 2009) - Real Salt Lake forward Yura Movsisyan was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 19 of the 2009 season. Movsisyan came off the bench at halftime of last Friday's match at Rio Tinto Stadium against FC Dallas and scored twice to help Real Salt Lake rally back to record its first-ever win in franchise history after falling behind by two goals. He beat out goalkeepers Matt Reis (New England Revolution) and Jon Busch (Chicago Fire) to capture the top spot in Player of the Week voting.
FC Dallas jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first 21 minutes of the game on goals from former Real Salt Lake forward Jeff Cunningham and Dave van den Bergh, but in the second half Movsisyan sparked the home team's comeback, netting the first of his two goals in the 55th minute when he caught the FC Dallas defense off guard. Movsisyan chased down a through-ball from MF Will Johnson, found himself one-on-one with FC Dallas goalkeeper Ray Burse, and pushed the ball by to cut the FC Dallas lead in half.
Robbie Findley scored the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 62nd minute, and FC Dallas defender Daniel Torres knocked in an own goal in the 88th minute to give Real Salt Lake a 3-2 lead late in the game. Movsisyan struck again in the 93rd minute when he took the ball at midfield and used pure speed to split two FC Dallas defenders before putting another shot past Burse. Movsisyan's third career two-goal performance sealed the win for Real Salt Lake and helped improve the club's record to 6-7-5 and 23 points. Movsisyan is currently second on the team with six goals scored, just one goal shy of the team-leading seven he netted in 2008, and is part of a nine-way logjam for 10th place on the League's Budweiser Golden Boot chart.
This is the second MLS Player of the Week award for a member of Real Salt Lake this season, joining MF Javier Morales' honor received three months ago to the day back on April 27 (Week 6). This marks the second such award for the 21-year-old from Pasadena City, Calif., his first Player of the Week nod coming after he notched the game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation in Real Salt Lake's 2008 Western Conference Semifinal match versus Chivas USA last November. Now in his second full season with Real Salt Lake, Movsisyan has scored 13 goals for the club and is currently fourth on the team's all-time scoring list. Movsisyan and Real Salt Lake are back in action this Saturday, Aug. 1, when they face the Chicago Fire on the road at 6:30 p.m. MT (coverage on KUTV 2.2 Digital / Comcast 111 begins at 6:00 p.m.).
• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...
Major League Soccer Stories from July 27, 2009
- All-Stars and Everton FC Take to the Field in Park City - MLS
- Kansas City Wizards Weekly Update - Sporting Kansas City
- MLS All-Stars in the community - Real Salt Lake
- Chivas USA News & Notes - Club Deportivo Chivas USA
- Earthquakes News & Notes - San Jose Earthquakes
- Real Salt Lake FW Movsisyan named MLS Player of the Week - Real Salt Lake
- Over 70,000 tickets already sold for Galaxy-Barcelona game - LA Galaxy
- Houston Dynamo to host 2010 MLS All-Star Game - Houston Dynamo FC
- Houston Dynamo to Host 2010 MLS All-Star Game - MLS
- Red Bulls Weekly Update - New York Red Bulls
- Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton added to MLS All-Star Team for July 29 match vs. Everton FC - Club Deportivo Chivas USA
- Revolution Return to Gillete Stadium to Host Toronto FC - New England Revolution
- Crew Soccer Academy standouts honored as U.S. Development Academy season ends - Columbus Crew SC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Real Salt Lake Stories
- Real Salt Lake Manufactures Inspiring 2-1 Comeback Road Victory at Vancouver
- Real Salt Lake Travels to Vancouver Saturday as MLS Campaign Resumes
- Real Salt Lake Forward Andrés Gómez Receives Colombia Call-Up
- Two Real Salt Lake Players Selected to U.S.A. Youth National Teams
- Utah Royals FC and Real Salt Lake Partner with KAGR (Kraft Analytics Group) to Drive Club Innovation and Enhance Utah Fan Experience