Inter Miami CF forward Gonzalo Higuaín was voted the MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire for Week 23 of the 2022 season.
The recognition comes after the Argentine notched a first-half hat trick Saturday July 30, at DRV PNK Stadium in a 4-4 draw against FC Cincinnati. Higuaín became the first-ever Inter Miami player, and just the third MLS player this season, to score three goals in the first half of a match. Additionally, he joined fellow striker Leonardo Campana (April 9, 2022 vs. New England Revolution) as the only players in club history to score a hat trick. The South Americans are the only pair of MLS teammates to each score a hat trick in the same season since 2019.
Higuaín’s brilliance began in the 23rd minute when he slotted home a free kick from the edge of the box into the top right corner of the net. A left-footed finish in the 37th minute followed by a penalty kick during first-half stoppage time completed the historic hat trick giving Higuaín seven goals against FC Cincinnati since the start of 2020, the most by an MLS player against a single club during that span.
With his performance Saturday night, Higuaín has now scored in three of his last four MLS appearances and is the first player in club history to score 20 MLS regular season goals.
Higuaín is Inter Miami’s second MLS Player of the Week nominee this season, joining Campana in Week 6, and the only player in club history to earn multiple MLS Player of the Week honors after winning the award in Week 5 of 2021.
Inter Miami returns to action Wednesday, August 3, when it visits the San Jose Earthquakes in the first ever meeting between the two sides. Kickoff at PayPal Park is set for 10:30 p.m. ET and fans can tune in live on My33, UniMás and the Inter Miami App.
The MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire is selected each week of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
