\u00d3scar Pareja and FC Dallas are off to an impressive start to\u00a0their 2017 campaign. Kellyn Acosta is\u00a0receiving many of the plaudits, to the point where some are calling 2017\u00a0the “Year of Kellyn Acosta.”\u00a0The 21 year old homegrown has been outstanding\u00a0indeed, but some\u00a0are\u00a0overlooking the contributions of one Maximilliano Urruti. The Argentine is red hot and having\u00a0the best start to a season of\u00a0his professional career.<\/p>\n
Urruti is playing his second season for\u00a0FC Dallas after spending 2014 and 2015 with the Portland Timbers. Portland acquired him from Toronto FC shortly after he arrived in MLS\u00a0from Newell’s Old Boys of Argentina.\u00a0Urruti made plenty of appearances for Portland, but featured more off the bench than as a starter. He scored 15 goals in\u00a0the 67 games he played there. Urruti\u00a0was also a late substitute in\u00a0the Timbers\u00a02015 MLS Cup win over Columbus Crew SC.<\/p>\n
He landed in Dallas in 2016 and found the starting role he desired. Maxi played the lead striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation, where he could attack directly or, more often, try to combine with Dallas’ talented midfielders.\u00a0Last season he managed nine goals and four assists in 29 starts. He also bagged a brace in FC Dallas’ U.S. Open Cup victory over the New England Revolution.<\/p>\n
His performance last year was decent, but not good enough for FC Dallas to pin their hopes on his goalscoring. He went through a 15 game goalscoring drought in 2016\u00a0that left some of the Dallas faithful\u00a0concerned.\u00a0Pareja went out on the transfer market in the\u00a0offseason, and inked striker Cristian Colm\u00e1n as a third\u00a0DP with a traditional number 9\u00a0presence.<\/p>\n
So what’s Maxi Urruti done in 2017 that’s so special? He’s netted three goals in just\u00a0two games of the MLS regular season. He opened the scoring in FC Dallas’\u00a0first game of the season in LA, a match they won 2-1. He also scored twice\u00a0against New\u00a0England last\u00a0Saturday to cap their come from behind win. Maxi’s performance against\u00a0New England was enough to earn him MLS Player of the Week<\/a> honors.\u00a0Urruti should have completed\u00a0a hat trick in the New England\u00a0match, but was denied by a stoppage time finger-tip save from Cody Cropper.<\/p>\n Urruti missed the second MLS game of the season\u00a0because most of\u00a0the FC Dallas starters\u00a0were rested against Sporting Kansas City.\u00a0A Champions League showdown with Pachuca loomed four days later.<\/p>\n