By DAN KARELL
After failing to find the back of the net in the last month and a half, Robbie Keane exploded into action on Saturday evening.
The Los Angeles Galaxy star proved his worth as a designated player, scoring a hat-trick to lead the Galaxy in a rout over Real Salt Lake. Keane’s performance earned him a place on the SBI MLS Best XI for Week 25. Joining him on the list is teammate and U.S. Men’s National Team defender Omar Gonzalez, who scored his first goal since signing a designated player contract.
Along with Keane, the Houston Dynamo’s Giles Barnes and Columbus Crew’s Federico Higuain made the Best XI team this week, each scoring two goals for their clubs in key victories. Even though the game ended in a scoreless draw, Dax McCarty finished with 84 of 88 passes completed (95.4 percent) for the New York Red Bulls.
Here is a rundown of the full SBI MLS Best XI for Week 23:
————Robbie Keane————Giles Barnes———–
————————Federico Higuain—————————
—Brad Davis————————————Diego Valeri—
—————————Dax McCarty—————————
—Chris Tierney—————–————Sean Franklin—
———Omar Gonzalez———-Clarence Goodson——-
—————————–Clint Irwin—————————-
HONORABLE MENTION
Jon Busch, Matt Reis, Zac MacMath; Jordan Stewart, Jose Gonçalves, Jeff Parke, Amobi Okugo Jamison Olave, Steven Beitashour, Marvell Wynne; Justin Mapp, Juninho, Nathan Sturgis, Deshorn Brown, Osvaldo Alonso, Lee Nguyen, John Thorrington; Juan Agudelo, Marco Di Vaio, Chris Wondolowski.