MLS Hustler of the Week: Kofi Sarkodie, Houston Dynamo

This week's MLS Hustler of the Week award goes to Kofi Sarkodie of the Houston Dynamo.

To be perfectly honest, it was not a great week for former Akron soccer players. Scott Caldwell of the New England Revolution gave away a penalty and Darlington Nagbe put in a respectable shift for the Portland Timbers but ultimately saw his team let another game slip late.

So I picked Sarkodie because of his effort on and off the ball and his ability to hold Colorado scoreless throughout the game.

To give a little perspective, the Colorado Rapids, Houston's opponent on Saturday, are the only team that hasn't scored a goal in the MLS this season, so I can't give Sarkodie that much credit.

But anyone who watched the game will have seen that not many of Colorado's attacks came down his flank, and he often slid over and helped his center back with onrushing attacks.

Sarkodie was solid on both sides of the pitch on Saturday and if not for the heroics of his goalkeeper, Tyler Deric, he might have gotten a bit more attention on the night.

In one of the Rapid's most clear-cut chances on the night, Juan Ramirez and Gabriel Torres combined for a beautiful passing sequence that ended with Torres lofting a perfect ball over the top with his chest to an onrushing Marcelo Sarvas who nearly put Colorado ahead.

While Deric will be credited with an incredible save that saw him tip the ball over the bar, you can clearly see Sarkodie diving in to try and get the block. You can watch his eyes follow the ball and he is a millisecond late in getting the block in. A spectacular save by Deric shouldn't overshadow Sarkodie's smart movement.

On the offensive end, he could have had the opening goal in first half stoppage time. A well-worked free kick routine almost saw the Dynamo take advantage of a slow Colorado defense, but Clint Erwin managed to punch away the initial effort on goal.

But his punch was deflected and landed at the feet of Rob Lovejoy, who saw Sarkodie in acres of space on the right side of the box. But Lovejoy opted for a lofted pass, one that sailed over Sarkodie's head, and ended the attack.

If Lovejoy had kept it on the ground, Sarkodie was looking at a lot of open space about 14 yards away from goal.

But in a week where not a lot of former Zips covered themselves in glory, Sarkodie (Number 2) stood out and commanded his flank.

Until next week! If anyone needs me I'll be eating barbecue and watching James Harden treat his beard like a Bonsai tree.