MLS Talking Points: Peak Giovinco, indeed
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Aug 8, 2016
Two weeks ago, he scored a hat trick that included a pair of free kicks to end a string of nine games without a goal. On Saturday, he scored another hat trick -- the fourth of his MLS career, one short of the league record, in just 55 games -- in a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution.
His hat trick on Saturday didn't include any free kicks, but the first two goals were beauties -- a bending shot that somehow found the far corner of keeper Bobby Shuttleworth’s goal and a curling shot that landed in the top corner of the goal.
Giovinco says he is at the peak of his career.
"I’m at my best age," he said, "27, 28 years until 34 or 35 should be the best years of football. The team is playing well and they are in form and I’m back to scoring."
The goals give Giovinco seven in his last four games. His 15 goals lead MLS and give him 37 goals in 55 games with TFC. He says he doesn't try to visualize too much when he shoots.
"Sometimes in some of the moments," he said after Saturday's win, "if I think too much then I will go and miss, but there will be other moments where I don't think at all, it will just happen."
The third win was in seven days -- just the sixth time it's happened in MLS history -- and the four straight win for TFC on its current homestand.
TFC coach Greg Vanney said Giovinco's first two goals gave his teammates the confidence to get through their third game in a week that began with a 3-0 win over Columbus and then a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.
"Aside from the beauty of the goals," Vanney said, "I thought they changed the mentality of group, the tempo of the game, changing things into our favor, roll into our direction."
