Dwayne De Rosario #7 of D.C. United and Joao Plate #7 of Toronto FC fight for a loose ball during a soccer game at RFK Stadium on August 6, 2011 in Washington, DC (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Dwayne De Rosario has become the first player to win the MLS Player of the Week twice this season.
His hat trick against Toronto FC to secure ten man DC United a entertaining 3-3 draw won the overwhelming majority of the votes cast by a select group of the North American Soccer Reporters.
Steven Sandor of the Canadian website the 11.ca explained why he chose the Canadian playing in the USA over the Frenchman playing for a Canadian side:
“DeRo converted his penalty, Hassli missed his. And you can’t ignore the occasion of De Rosario playing the hometown team with whom he has such an ugly falling out. If De Ro could play San Jose, Houston, New York and Toronto more often, how may would he score? He has a knack of embarrassing his former teams.”
He fought off a challenge from Vancouver’s Eric Hassli with Portland Timbers Kenny Cooper, being the only other player to register a first choice vote.
De Rosario also won the award last week for his performance in San Jose.
Chivas USA’s Alejandro Moreno, Sounders FC’s Mauro Rosales and RSL’s Kyle Beckerman registered votes among the panel’s second preferences.
How they voted:
| Voter | First Choice | Second Choice |
| Michael Lewis (BigAppleSoccer) | Dwayne De Rosario | Eric Hassli |
| Steven Sandor (The11.ca) | Dwayne De Rosario | Eric Hassli |
| Elliott Almond (SJ Mercury) | Dwayne De Rosario | Alejandro Moreno |
| Shaun Schafer (ColoradoSoccerNow) | Dwayne De Rosario | Alejandro Moreno |
| Phil Schoen (GolTV) | Dwayne De Rosario | Mauro Rosales |
| Michael C Lewis (SL Tribune) | Dwayne De Rosario | Eric Hassli |
| Jamie Trecker (FSC) | Dwayne De Rosario | Kyle Beckerman |
| Marc Connolly (ESPN) | Dwayne De Rosario | Eric Hassli |
| Kyle McCarthy (Boston Herald) | Dwayne De Rosario | Mauro Rosales |
| Nick Thomas (mlssoccer) | Dwayne De Rosario | Eric Hassli |
| J. Tannenwald (philly.com) | Dwayne De Rosario | David Beckham |
| JP Dellacamera (Fox) | Dwayne De Rosario | Alejandro Moreno |
| Orrin Schwarz (Daily Herald) | Dwayne De Rosario | Eric Hassli |
| Frank Giase (Star Ledger) | Dwayne De Rosario | Eric Hassli |
| Jonah Freedman (mlssoccer) | Dwayne De Rosario | Mauro Rosales |
| Steve Clare (Prost Amerika) | Eric Hassli | Dwayne De Rosario |
| Matt Kieltyka (Vancouver Metro) | Eric Hassli | Dwayne De Rosario |
| Buzz Carrick (3rd Degree) | Eric Hassli | Dwayne De Rosario |
| Scott French (ESPN-LA) | Kenny Cooper | Eric Hassli |
Previous 2011 POTW Winners:
Week 20: Dwayne De Rosario (DC United)
Week 19 Winner: Sanna Nyassi (Colorado Rapids)
Week 18 Winner: Mauro Rosales (Sounders FC)
Week 17 Winner: Fredy Montero (Sounders FC)
Week 16 Winner: Joel Lindpere (NYRB)
Week 15 Winner: Mike Magee (LA Galaxy)
Week 14 Winner: Bernardo Anor (Columbus Crew)
Week 13 Winner: Steven Lenhart (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 12 Winner: Jean Alexandre (Real Salt Lake)
Week 11 Winner: Justin Mapp (Philadelphia Union)
Week 10 Winner: Jeff Parke (Sounders FC)
Week 9 Winner: Justin Braun (Chivas USA)
Week 8 Winner: Joao Plata (Toronto FC)
Week 7 Winner: Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo)
Week 6 Winner: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
Week 5 Winner: Luke Rodgers (New York Red Bulls)
Week 4 Winner: David Ferreira (FC Dallas)
Week 3 Winner: Camilo (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Week 2 Winner: Javier Morales (RSL)
Week 1 Winner: Omar Bravo (SKC)
