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It's safe to assume that 2013 not been the season Chris Rolfe thought it would be: Two goals in the first 18 games, despite being healthy and getting lots of minutes up top. At various times, the Ohio native has looked a bit lost, as his touch deserted him, his runs weren't getting found, and the chances he did get he'd snatch at in desperation. Remember this, though: Rolfe's career has been marked by streakiness - he's gone quiet over stretches like this before, only to roar back into the limelight with multiple-game runs of inspired play.
Saturday evening gave evidence of how influential Rolfe can be when he plays well - his two goals were no more than just reward for an evening of hard, clever running, velvety touches, and responsible covering of space. MLS writers today recognized Chris as the MLS Player of the Week - the first such award for a Fire player in 2013. (Mike Magee won in week 1 for his demolition job on the Men in Red while a member of the LA Galaxy, and we're done mentioning that game in this space, thank you so much.)
From everyone here at Hot Time, congratulations, Chris! Here's to hoping this is the beginning of another of your torrid runs of form.