D.C. United continued their late-season charge, and they did so by riding the diminutive back of Luciano Acosta.
In a game with massive playoff implications Saturday, Acosta had a hand in all five goals as D.C. rolled to a commanding 5-0 win over Montreal — a performance that earned him the Alcatel MLS Player of the Week award, as voted on by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR), for Week 31.
The award is the second of the season for Acosta, who won it in mid-August after a hat trick vs. Orlando.
Acosta opened the scoring with a goal in the 17th minute, fighting to keep control of the ball before setting up a give-and-go with Yamil Asad and sneaking a shot just inside the post.
The 5-foot-3 midfielder then added three straight assists, setting upWayne Rooney two minutes after halftime and then getting the helpers on a pair of Paul Arriola goals, weaving through a slew of Impact defenders on the second.
On D.C. United’s fifth and final goal of the night, Acosta’s long throughball to Arriola caused Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush to come way out of the net and allow Rooney to loft a goal into the open net.
With the performance, Acosta surged into the league lead in assists with 16. He also has nine goals on the season for D.C. United, who trail Montreal by two points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand.
D.C. return to action Sunday vs. the Chicago Fire at Audi Field (1 pm ET | ESPN — Full TV & streaming info), the fourth game of a seven-game homestand.
The Alcatel MLS Player of the Week is chosen each week of the regular season by members of the North American Soccer Reporters. The organization includes print, television, radio and online journalists who cover domestic men's soccer in the United States and Canada.
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