Alecko Eskandarian's left-footed strike in D.C. United's 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday, September 18 was voted as the Sierra Mist MLS Goal of the Week for the week ending Sept. 19 (Week 25). The second-year player's 10th goal of the season was the fourth goal that has been honored by the fans' votes.
The Goal of the Week winner is determined from a selection of finalists through a fan vote conducted on the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week section of Major League Soccer's official web site: www.MLSnet.com.
The No. 1 2003 SuperDraft selection stretched United's lead to 2-0 with his goal in the 20th minute. The 22-year old lined up to take a corner kick from the right side, and sent a quick short pass to teammate Jaime Moreno along the side of the box. Moreno returned the pass away from the and Eskandarian ran on to it in stride, hammering home a searing shot to the near right post that took a slight deflection off a defender before beating goalkeeper Henry Ring. D.C. United is now 7-0-2 when Eskandarian has scored in his career, outscoring opponents 27-10 in the nine games.
Eskandarian's goal (46 percent of the vote) was selected ahead of Taylor Twellman's first of two for the New England Revolution (21 percent) and Edson Buddle's first of four for the Columbus Crew (15 percent). Goals by Christian Gomez of D.C. United and Colorado Rapids' forward Jean Philippe Peguero also received votes.
Streaming video highlights and goals from MLS games are available for viewing every weekend on MLSnet.com just hours after the conclusion of the final match of the weekend. The Sierra Mist Goal of the Week winner is announced the following Wednesday.
At the end of the regular season, each of the 29 Goal of the Week winners selected throughout the season will be featured in voting for the Sierra Mist MLS Goal of the Year, an award presented annually to the author of the season's most spectacular scoring play. The Sierra Mist Goal of the Year award will be announced in the days leading up to MLS Cup 2004.
2004 SIERRA MIST GOAL OF THE WEEK WINNERS:
Week 1: Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United)
Week 2: Ronald Cerritos (D.C. United)
Week 3: Dwayne De Rosario (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 4: Carlos Ruiz (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 5: Joe Franchino (New England Revolution)
Week 6: Cornell Glen (MetroStars)
Week 7: Jaime Moreno (D.C. United)
Week 8: Freddy Adu (D.C. United)
Week 9: John Wolyniec (MetroStars)
Week 10: Damani Ralph (Chicago Fire)
Week 11: Jeff Agoos (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 12: Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United)
Week 13: Jovan Kirovski (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 14: Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United)
Week 15: Steve Ralston (New England Revolution)
Week 16: Brian Ching (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 17: Jack Jewsbury (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 18: Amado Guevara (MetroStars)
Week 19: Dwayne De Rosario (San Jose Earthquakes)
Week 20: Matt Crawford (Colorado Rapids)
Week 21: Ross Paule (Columbus Crew)
Week 22: Ronnie O'Brien (Dallas Burn)
Week 23: Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 24: Tony Sanneh (Columbus Crew)
Week 25: Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United)
