Hickory native and former UNCW goalkeeper Brad Knighton has been named Major League Soccer’s Player of the Week after sparking surging Vancouver in two key matches last week.
Knighton, who starred at Richmond’s Mills Godwin High School before a stellar career with the Seahawks, made two saves in Vancouver FC’s draw against Sporting Kansas City early last week before topping that with seven saves and an assist in a 2-0 victory over rival Seattle on Saturday.
The seven saves against the Sounders was a career-high for Knighton and the second most by a ‘Caps keeper in MLS. The shutout was Knighton’s second in three matches after he posted a clean sheet on June 29 against D.C. United.
“By far, hands down, that’s the best game I’ve ever played,” Knighton, 28, told reporters following Saturday’s win over their Cascadia rivals. “I haven’t had an assist since high school, so it was quite nice.”
Knighton and his club return to the pitch on July 14, when Eastern Conference side Chicago visits BC Place for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from North American print, television, radio and online media reporters.
Knighton was a First-Team All Colonial Athletic Association pick in 2006 and is UNCW’s career shutout leader with 25 clean sheets. He ranks second all-time in goals against average (1.08) and started 73-of-75 games between the pipes from 2003-06.
