Just days after being named to the U.S. roster for the FIFA World Cup, Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching has earned April’s MLS Player of the Month honor. Ching’s six goals in five games during the opening month of the MLS season placed him atop the League scoring table. He also tallied one assist in April.

Ching opened May with a goal and an assist in the Dynamo’s 4-3 victory over FC Dallas and he now leads the league in scoring with seven goals in six games. He scored four in the Dynamo’s opening game versus Colorado on April 2, making him the only player to score a hat trick so far this season. Ching leads the League in shots on goal (14) and he is tied with teammate Dwayne DeRosario for most game winning goals (2). The Dynamo is now 4-2-0 and sits in first place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of FC Dallas.

Ching, who is from Haleiwa, Hawaii, now has 33 career goals in 70 regular season games. He scored seven goals and notched five assists in 2005. This is the first time in his career that Ching has been named MLS Player of the Month.

The MLS Player of the Month is selected following the last game of each month throughout the regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA). The PSRA votes among players nominated by their respective teams.

About Major League Soccer

Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and features many stars from the U.S. and around the world. Now in its 11th season, the 12 teams in MLS are: the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, Red Bull New York, New England Revolution and Real Salt Lake. For more information about MLS, log on to the League’s official Web site at www.MLSnet.com.

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