Gyasi Zardes makes MLS Team of the Week

It’s not taking very long for Gyasi Zardes to show he fits in quite nicely with Columbus Crew SC.

After being part of the trade that saw Ola Kamara sent to the LA Galaxy, while the Hawthorne, California native was sent back the other way, Zardes scored in his debut, helping Crew SC defeat MLS Cup champions Toronto FC 2-0 on opening day.

A week later and the forward was again influential in a Black & Gold victory, scoring twice in Columbus’ 3-2 win over the Montreal Impact in the home opener.

On Monday, Zardes was recognized by Major League Soccer for his performance over the weekend, being named to MLS’s Team of the Week as a bench player.

Zardes’ first goal came in the 15th minute, as he was in the right place at the right time to finish an Artur header that came back off the crossbar to give Crew SC an early 2-0 lead. With that goal, Zardes became the first player in club history to score in his first two games.

But his biggest moment was saved for late, as the striker converted a stoppage time penalty kick to give the Black & Gold the full three points after the Impact battled back to tie the game in the final 10 minutes.

It’s only two games into the MLS season, but Zardes has already eclipsed his scoring output for all of last year and is tied with Los Angeles Football Club’s Diego Rossi for the most goals in the league with three.