Megan Rapinoe has been voted the first Player of the Week of the 2018 season by the NWSL Media Association.   Rapinoe earns the honors after scoring a goal and an assist in Seattle’s Week 1 home win over the Washington Spirit. It’s the fifth time in her career that she’s been named Player of […]

Megan Rapinoe has been voted the first Player of the Week of the 2018 season by the NWSL Media Association.Rapinoe earns the honors after scoring a goal and an assist in Seattle’s Week 1 home win over the Washington Spirit. It’s the fifth time in her career that she’s been named Player of the Week. After scoring 12 goals in 2017, Rapinoe wasted no time getting on the scoresheet this season, scoring in just the seventh minute on a direct free kick from about 30 yards out. After a foul on Allie Long set up the free kick, Rapinoe struck the ball with her right foot, bending over the wall and into the upper left corner. Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe nearly got hand on it, but could not stop Rapinoe’s shot from hitting the back of the net. [Youtube oembed has failed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOAGpuy6DXI] A half hour later, Rapinoe set up Jodie Taylor with a perfectly weighted through ball that Taylor buried to give Seattle a 2-0 lead. Rapinoe finished the match with 11 total shots, six of which were on goal. She recorded 85 total touches and two chances created, according to Opta. The NWSL Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis. For more information on the NWSL Media Association, follow them on Twitter.