New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips was named MLS Player of the Week for Week 8. Wright-Phillips recorded four goals in two games last week, helping the Red Bulls (2-2-5, 11 pts.) extend their unbeaten streak to three (2-0-1) and move one point shy of first place in the Eastern Conference.
Wright-Phillips and the Red Bulls will next face FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium on Sunday, May 4 at 3:00 PM ET (TV: MSG, UniMas). Tickets are on sale now for the Red Bulls’ next home match against the Chicago Fire on Saturday, May 10 at 7:00 PM by calling 1.877.727.6223 or logging onto tickets.newyorkredbulls.com.
Wright-Phillips became the first player since Thierry Henry in March 2012 to record a hat trick for New York, as the Red Bulls tallied their second-straight win in a 4-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo at Red Bull Arena last Wednesday, April 23. Wright-Phillips helped stake the Red Bulls to a 2-0 lead before halftime and rounded out his night with a penalty kick goal four minutes from the end of the match.
Four days later against the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium, Wright-Phillips found the back of the net again and recorded his team-leading fifth goal of the season. With New York down 1-0, Wright-Phillips was able to control a Lloyd Sam pass and curled it off the right post and into the back of the net to give the Red Bulls a 1-1 tie.
This is the first time a Red Bull has earned the MLS Player of the Week award in 2014. The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR).
New York signed Wright-Phillips on July 24, 2013 and the Englishman went onto record two goals for the Red Bulls (one in the regular season, one in the playoffs). His career started in 2004, when he graduated from Manchester City’s academy and played for the Premiership side until 2006. The 28-year-old then moved onto English side, Southampton, where he amassed 111 appearances and scored 22 goals. From 2009-11, Wright-Phillips featured for Plymouth Argyle before the former English Under-20 International moved to Charlton Athletic. Prior to coming to New York, Wright-Phillips was most recently at Brentford on loan.
