Vancouver Whitecaps’ Giles Barnes wins MLS Player of the Week for Week 34

Giles Barnes’ tenure with the Vancouver Whitecaps has largely been like the Whitecaps’ back-half of the season: utterly forgettable. Sure, the Whitecaps did play very well in CONCACAF Champions League group play, winning their group and moving on to the quarterfinals in the spring.

But in MLS, the Whitecaps, who last year were one of the most exciting teams to watch in the league, were basically anonymous after their long slide began. And the addition of Barnes, a streaky player who was occasionally capable of carrying an anemic Houston Dynamo attack, didn’t do much to spice things up when he moved north.

But that all changed on Sunday, as Vancouver awoke from their MLS slumber on the final day of the season, crushing the Portland Timbers 4-1, killing their Cascadia Cup rivals’ MLS Playoff hopes, and taking the Cascadia Cup itself for the year. And Barnes played a big role, scoring the game’s first two goals to pace the rout, and winning SB Nation’s MLS Player of the Week award in the process. It may be small consolation on a somewhat difficult year for player and club, but at least they have this.

Full results for Week 34, with first-place votes getting three points, second-place votes receiving two points, and third-place votes earning a point each:

And here are the full ballots for Week 34: