Portland Timbers midfielder Kalif Alhassan has been voted as the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the first week of the 2012 season.
Alhassan had a goal and an assist in the Timbers season-opening 3-1 win over Philadelphia on Monday. He also drew the foul that earned the free kick that produced the first Timbers goal.
The 21-year-old Ghanaian tallied 12 first-place votes among the members of the North American Soccer Reporters. He is the first Portland player to win the award.
Vancouver’s Sebastien Le Toux, Real Salt Lake’s Javier Morales, Colorado’s Kosuke Kimura and Quincy Amarikwa and the FC Dallas pair of Blas Perez and Zach Loyd also received first-place votes.
