Hany Mukhtar Named MLS Player Of The Matchday For Hat Trick Against St. Louis

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Hany Mukhtar celebrating a goal with his teammates. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Hany Mukhtar was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchday 19 after scoring a hat trick against St. Louis City on Saturday (June 17) at GEOIDS Park.

This marks the second time this season Mukhtar has earned the award. He claimed the first on Matchday 11, when he recorded a hat trick against Chicago Fire FC at GEODIS Park on May 6.

Mukhtar now has eight Player of the Matchday honors in his career and is the fourth player in MLS history to win multiple Player of the Matchday honors in three consecutive seasons. He stands alongside Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sebastian Giovinco and Josef Martínez in accomplishing the feat.

The Reigning 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP got the party started on Saturday night with his fastest goal of the season in the 11th minute after a cross in the box by Shaq Moore from the right side was deflected towards Mukhtar—in the middle of the box—who then hammered it home. Mukhtar converted a penalty for his second goal after Jacob Shaffelburg was taken down from behind in the box.

The hat trick came after Dax McCarty set the German attacker with a nifty flick. Alone against the St. Louis keeper, Mukhtar delivered his final goal of the night. He now has four career MLS hat tricks and is just the 12th player in league history to hit that mark. The midfielder’s first goal was also his 50th over the past three seasons. With that goal, he became the third player in league history to score 50 goals and add 30 assists over a three-year span, joining Giovinco (2015-2017) and Robbie Keane (2012-2014, 2013-2015).

This season, Mukhtar leads all MLS players in goals (13) and goal contributions (20) and has recorded a goal or an assist in 10 of his last 13 league matches. He is also the only player in MLS to have an active streak of 10 goals and five assists in three straight seasons.

Mukhtar continues to make his case to become the first player in MLS history to win back-to-back Landon Donovan MLS MVP awards. When compared to his MVP season in 2022, he has four more goals and two extra assists through Matchday 18 in 2023. Mukhtar has scored multiple goals 14 times, as Nashville has never lost when he scored multiple goals owning a 12W-0L-2D record. Additionally, he has contributed to 90 of Nashville SC’s 159 goals in club history (56 goals, 34 assists).

Mukhtar and Nashville SC will hit the road for a pair of away matches this week, traveling north of the border to take on CF Montréal on Wednesday (June 21) before visiting Columbus Crew on Saturday (June 24). Both matches are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on MLS Season Pass in the Apple TV app and heard on 104.5 The Zone.

Steven Boero
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