Clint Dempsey may be the flavor of the moment in Major League Soccer – but ol’ Landon Donovan still has something to say about who’s who in the “face of American soccer” argument.
Donovan was a one-man army down in Texas on Sunday night, supplier of Major League Soccer’s fifth hat trick this year. It was the fourth career MLS hat trick for the Galaxy’s all-time leading scorer.
His goals included one breakaway special – Who says the man has lost a step? – and two clinical, opportunistic strikes. And every single Donovan effort was essential as the two-time defending league champs struggled to overcome shoddy work from the referee’s assistant and their own poor work on defending set pieces in order to manufacture the 3-3 tie in Texas.
FC Dallas’ defending on all three goals was an absolute mess, but that shouldn’t take away from Donovan’s accomplishments; you still have to score them, after all.
Remember, his is his first league match since returning from Gold Cup duty, where Donovan had five goals and seven assists while being named CONCACAF Player of the Tournament.
Here are all three goals from the once-and-again U.S. international Sunday at FC Dallas Stadium:
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