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D-Ro strikes twice as Toronto, D.C. tie
It’s gonna be difficult not to vote for Dwayne De Rosario for player of the week. …
D-Ro is one of ColoradoSoccerNow’s favorite players, and there are few things in Major League Soccer that I like better than seeing De Rosario doing his post-goal chicken dance. He did it twice on Saturday, and both goals warranted it.
Cole, ColoradoSoccerNow’s general manager, recently asked me how often a goalkeeper just punts the ball downfield randomly and how often those punts are directed to a specific player or a specific spot on the field. De Rosario’s first goal was a perfect example of a keeper targeting a player. Stefan Frei saw D-Ro sprinting toward goal, moved to an open area in the box and delivered a spot-on drop-kick that his striker could work with.
De Rosario’s second goal was another highlight goal. I looked for it on YouTube, but it’s not there yet (please let me know if it shows up, and I’ll link to it). He completely undressed Bryan Namoff with a quick cut to his right and blasted a shot from the top of the penalty box arc. D.C. keeper Milos Kocic leaped to his left, but De Rosario’s shot slipped in just inside the right post.
Although D-Ro’s goals both have a shot at being nominated for goal of the week, the play of the game might have been a save Frei made in the 71st minute. D.C. sub Santino Quaranta decided to tee-up a right-footed shot from the top right corner of the Toronto penalty area. His shot started out on course for the left post, but the bend on this thing was amazing. The change of direction was so severe that, to the naked eye, it looked like the ball was deflected on the way to the net. I rewound it, but I couldn’t see a deflection. Anyway, it started out headed for the far post then took a right turn in midair. It would’ve sneaked inside the near post, but Frei made a spectacular diving save. Frei, and everyone else, saw the thing head toward one post. Then he had to readjust his footing and dive the other way. Super stuff. The ball could’ve gotten a ticket for failure to use its turn signal; that’s how serious this bend was.
If ever a player deserved an assist for not touching the ball, it was Jaime Moreno. On Chris Pontius’ goal in the 87th minute, Moreno executed a dummy so well that I would suggest he deserves an assist. Rodney Wallace sent a slow roller toward Moreno from the left wing. The veteran drew attention of all of Toronto’s defenders and approached it as if he were planning to strike. But he let the ball roll past to Pontius, who surprised nearly all of the Reds and popped a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
Very exciting game, especially the second half.
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