WASHINGTON – With the way D.C. United’s rookie forward Blake Brettschneider had been playing of late, it was only like a matter of time before he would get that first pro goal.
After scoring in the May 22 friendly loss against Ajax, Brettschneider opened his MLS account with a first half tally against San Jose on Saturday night. At the time it tied the game at 2-2, but two second-half goals by the Earthquakes meant his first goal came in a losing effort.
“It was nice to get my first real [goal], but on the night it wasn’t good enough and we have to keep working forward,” he said.
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Defender Chris Korb found Brettschneider with his back to the goal at the top of the box in front of San Jose defender Bobby Burling. The rookie forward did the rest, poking the ball into space, turning and firing a low shot past goalie Jon Busch.
“Korb looked up and found a little gap through [the defense],” Brettschneider said. “I was initially looking for the layoff, but when I saw how far off it was I tried to play the ball back and make good contact with it.”
The effort earned praise from head coach Ben Olsen after the game, even after the team’s humbling defeat.
“Blake scored a great goal,” Olsen said. “He was pretty sharp on the ball and had a good night.”
DC acquired the 22-year-old product from South Carolina in the second round of the 2011 Supplemental Draft, eventually signing a contract at the beginning of March after an impressive preseason.
He worked hard in training alongside fellow forwards Josh Wolff, Charlie Davies and Joe Ngwenya, finding himself in and out of the lineup. During the team’s latest West Coast road trip, he assisted on two goals in a win over Portland and started in a draw against LA.
Travis Clark covers D.C. United, College and Youth soccer for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @travismclark
