Orlando City SC striker Cyle Larin has been named MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters after scoring a hat trick in Orlando's 5-3 loss at the hands of New York City FC on Sunday.
Back and forth affair
The match was one of the most exciting of the MLS season to date, with seven of the game's eight goals coming in the second half. Larin twice brought Orlando City back level, once after David Villa made it 1-0 and again after Javier Calle made it 2-1. He ignited another comeback attempt when he scored in the 85th minute to cut the deficit to 4-3, and the Lions were inches away from equalizing in stoppage time when Kaka's free kick came back off the post, leading to an NYCFC counter attack which ended with a goal from Mix Diskerud to make it 5-3 in favor of the Cityzens.
History is made
Larin has become the second youngest player in MLS history to score a hat trick after Kekuta Manneh of the Vancouver Whitecaps. However, the striker's impact transcends that of a youthful talent. He is a trailblazer for Canadian soccer, and with this performance he became just the third Canadian player to score a hat trick in MLS after Dwayne De Rosario and Tesho Akindele.
Much is expected of Larin. The number one overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft has scored nine goals in 15 MLS appearances and has already reached double digit caps for Canada, starting at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Many were surprised when he signed a Generation Adidas contract with MLS, because he had generated quite a bit of interest from European clubs, including from one in the English Premier League. It's easy to see why he was such a sought after player, and if he can continue to develop there's no reason why he can't become one of the finest players Canada has ever seen.