Union’s Borek Dockal wins MLS Player of the Week award

Union playmaker Borek Dockal's dominant performance in Saturday's 4-0 rout of the Vancouver Whitecaps won national recognition on Tuesday, as he was named MLS player of the week.

The award was given by the North American Soccer Reporters, a group of journalists who cover men's soccer at all professional levels across the U.S. and Canada.

Dockal scored two goals against Vancouver, and was impressive in all areas of the attack. He created five chances for teammates and recorded 65 passes with an accuracy rate of 92.5 percent.

The win pushed the Union into sixth place in the Eastern Conference, putting them in one of the playoff spots as the season approaches the midway point. The Union will play the 17th of their 34 league games at expansion team Los Angeles FC on Saturday.

"There is always some target that you want to achieve, and for the Philadelphia Union this season, it's the playoffs," Dockal said after Saturday's game. "That's our target this season. Plus we are in a good position in a cup [the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals], so there is a possibility to lift up a trophy, which we are going to try to do."

Dockal is only the eighth player in the Union's nine-year history to earn a player-of-the-week honor. That perhaps says something about the team's lack of star power over time, but it also shows Dockal has had a real impact on MLS in his debut season. The Czech playmaker leads the Union with five goals and six assists and ranks second in shots with 29.

To top things off, Dockal will also welcome a second child to the family soon. His wife is expecting to deliver in the next few days.