Houston Dynamo 2 striker Papa Ndoye etched his name into MLS NEXT Pro history Sunday night, scoring a hat trick in back-to-back regular season games for the first time in MLS NEXT Pro. His three goals in a 3-1 result against Sporting Kansas City II handed Dynamo Dos a second straight win.
Ndoye's hat trick also earned him back-to-back Player of the Matchday honors, with Ndoye leading individual performances in Matchday 20.
The Senegalese striker already earned Matchday 19's Player of the Matchday honor with a hat trick in a thrilling 5-3 win over Real Monarchs.
Ndoye opened scoring by turning in a deflected cross at the back post in the ninth minute. He struck again soon after, scoring from the penalty spot in the 12th minute.
Dynamo Dos enjoyed the early lead, heading into halftime up 2-0. Sporting KC II applied some pressure in the second half, with a penalty-kick goal from Josh Coan making it 2-1.
Ndoye completed his hat trick by scoring a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Another league-leading performance brings Ndoye's 2023 goal total to 11. The 24-year-old has now doubled his 2022 output of five goals in fewer minutes, with 1,181 minutes played in 2023 and 1,269 minutes across 20 appearances last season.
Ndoye made his professional debut with Dynamo Dos on March 26, 2022, arriving at the organization after a college career at Southern Methodist University. He scored five goals in 10 appearances in his senior season at SMU, and previously played college soccer at Long Island University.
