LOS ANGELES (Monday, Sept. 23, 2024) – LA Galaxy forward Gabriel Pec was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 34 of the 2024 MLS Regular Season.
Pec, 23, became the first Galaxy player to earn MLS Player of the Matchday honors this season after recording one goal and two assists in LA’s 4-2 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC before a sellout crowd of 25,387 fans at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sept. 21. With his performance against Vancouver, Pec has now recorded 13 goals and 12 assists in 30 matches played (27 starts) in his first year with the Galaxy during the 2024 MLS Regular Season. Pec has also notched 20 goal contributions (10 goals, 10 assists) in 16 games played (14 starts) at home this year. Notably, Pec is the only first-year player in MLS this season to produce at least 25 goal contributions, and is one of two players in MLS this season (Lionel Messi – 10 goals, 12 assists) to record 10 plus goals and 10 plus assists at home during the 2024 campaign.
The Brazilian forward provided the assist on Joseph Paintsil’s 10th goal of the season in the 69th minute of the match, as the Galaxy became the first team in MLS history to have four players score at least 10 goals in the same season – Dejan Joveljić (14), Pec (13), Riqui Puig (11) and Paintsil (10). Additionally, Pec and Paintsil became the first-ever pair of teammates in MLS history to record 10 plus goals and 10 plus assists in their debut season. The 2024 LA Galaxy are just the second team in MLS history to have three players record 10 plus goals and 10 plus assists in the same season (Paintsil: 10 goals, 10 assists; Pec: 13 goals, 12 assists; Puig: 11 goals, 14 assists), joining the 1998 Los Angeles Galaxy (Mauricio Cienfuegos: 13 goals, 16 assists; Cobi Jones: 19 goals, 13 assists; Welton: 17 goals, 11 assists).
Next up, the LA Galaxy travel to face the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday, Oct. 2 (6:30 p.m. PT, MLS Season Pass).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
