When Wayne Rooney signed for DC United, the team were rock bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference with a league record low of just 10 points garnered from their first 12 matches.
Just 115 days and a nine-match defeat-less run later, Rooney scored his 11th and 12th goals for DC to help nail down a most unlikely place in the play-offs courtesy of a 3-1 win over New York City.
The first came just eight minutes in when a nifty, jinking run from attacking midfielder Luciano Acosta saw the ball more or less fell at Rooney’s feet with the New York goal a-gaping…
Acosta then scored a goal of his own shortly thereafter before Rooney added a third from the penalty spot in the 74th minute to shore up the victory and spirit DC up into fifth place in the conference table.
That’s 19 games, 12 goals and seven assists for the former Manchester United forward since he made his move Stateside. Good on him.
DC now head into the final game of the regular season at Chicago Fire next Sunday with the chance of finishing as high as third, which would ensure they begin the play-offs with a home tie in the first round.