Besides the Major League Soccer season, American MLS teams also compete for the U.S. Open Cup, a domestic knockout tournament that also includes minor-league teams and amateur clubs that can enter via qualification rounds.
D.C. United had a tense fourth-round match Wednesday against the Philadelphia Union, but then someone made the mistake of committing a foul in the box, and Wayne Rooney stepped in.
Rooney scored on a penalty kick in the 120th minute to deliver United a 2-1 victory and push the team into the Round of 16.
The English star beat goalkeeper Matt Freese to the keeper’s right. Watch below:
Waz there any doubt? @WayneRooney rifles the PK into the back of the net for the 2-1 lead! 🚀#DCU pic.twitter.com/mBwTrZnWZB
— D.C. United (@dcunited) June 13, 2019
All three goals were scored in the late stages of extra time after D.C. and Philadelphia finished 90 minutes without a score. Union scored first, but United tied it in the 118th minute with a goal by Chris McCann, assisted by Rooney.
United will play NYC F.C. in the Round of 16 Wednesday at Audi Field.
The winner of the U.S. Open Cup receives $300,000 in prize money. United has won the tournament three times since it was founded in 1994; no team has won it more than five times.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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