Esky builds name as big-game player

CARSON, Calif. -- Alecko Eskandarian draped a towel over his face and looked up into the sky, as though he was asking the Soccer Gods, Why me and why now? Here it was the 66th minute of the MLS Cup final with his team leading 3-2 and the shooting pain in his legs became to much to bear.

"All year long I've never had a problem with cramps or anything," said the 22-year-old D.C. United striker. "All of a sudden in the biggest game of my life, both my hamstrings cramp up."

Eskandarian could have remained on the field. He could have been selfish and put his own desires to be out there above the good of the team, but he couldn't. Not with this group. Not with a team full of players who he calls his "brothers" who picked him up last year when he wasn't getting any playing time as a rookie or earlier this season when he wasn't a starter.

"It would've been unfair if I was limping around out there." Instead he took a place on the ground, face down, and watched helplessly as the trainer worked on his calf muscles.

Even though Eskandarian couldn't rest easy with his team clinging to a one-goal lead against a now-desperate Kansas City Wizards side, the heavy lifting had already been done.

In a stunning performance, last year's No. 1 overall selection in the MLS Draft struck two times in a four-minute span in the first half to stake his team to a 2-1 lead and ultimately take home MVP honors in United's 3-2 victory in Sunday's MLS Cup title match.

"He's a heck of a striker," said a subdued Wizards head coach Bob Gansler after the match. "That's what he does: he smacks the ball at the goal. You've got to applaud that."

There's no question that Eskandarian's left foot has become a registered weapon in Major League Soccer this year. But it was more than that on Sunday.

His first goal was an exhibition in positioning and using your body to your advantage on how to post up a defender, while his second tally displayed his determination on defense and opportunistic abilities.

With his team down a goal after Jose Burciaga Jr. ripped the side netting with a knuckling shot from 30 yards out in the sixth minute of play, Eskandarian evened the match by turning on Wizards defender Nick Garcia and positioning himself in a way that he could unleash his left foot from 13 yards out on goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi.

While most of the 25,797 fans in the Home Depot Center could have anticipated that he would turn to his right to use his favored foot, Garcia was a bit slow to react and could not recover in time to defend the shot.

"I knew Garcia was a strong guy, so I knew I had to be strong with him," said Eskandarian, describing what he did once Brian Carroll slipped him the ball at the top of the circle around the 18-yard box. "I turned on him and got my big butt in his way a little bit. Once I turned on him, I knew I just needed a little space to get my shot off."

His second strike was more about capitalizing on one of many lax moments the Wizards had in this game.

Jack Jewsbury casually sent a ball to Jimmy Conrad on a throw-in from the right side of the field. Seizing the opportunity to pressure a slow-moving pass, Eskandarian quickly stepped to Conrad.

Once the MLS Defender of the Year candidate felt pressure, he was forced to play it on a volley. But instead of going over Eskandarian to safety, the ball slammed of the moving striker's right forearm, and perfectly bounced towards the goal.

Ryan Nelsen always tells me that if you see an opportunity to pressure, you go," he said. "Don't worry about anything else."

It was a clear hand ball, yet Eskandarian wasn't sure where it hit him and he was hardly going to slow up his run as Conrad raised his arm and pleaded with the officials.

"You don't stop until you hear the whistle," he deadpanned.

By the time Oshoniyi could react to the miscue, Eskandarian had already coolly picked the corner and given United a 2-1 lead.

After the match, Gansler was almost emotionless about the play.

"If the referee doesn't call it," said the former U.S. National Team manager, "then it's not (a foul)."

Hand ball or not, it's impossible to take anything away from Esky, as his teammates affectionately call him. The 2004 campaign revealed one huge breakout performance after another by the former University of Virginia star.

It started back in April when he stole Freddy Adu's thunder in the 15-year-old's first professional game by scoring a highlight-reel goal against the San Jose Earthquakes.

It continued right through the season as he totaled 10 goals, and certainly throughout the postseason as he led all scorers with four goals in four games.

He became only the second player to score two goals in MLS Cup history, following up Landon Donovan's two-goal performance against Chicago last year.

Like the San Jose Earthquakes star, who is the same age as Eskandarian and a former teammate on the Under-23 National Team, he has quickly showed his flair for the dramatic and penchant for rising to the occasion in important matches.

"I love the attention, man," joked the Montvale, N.J., native about his big-game performances on national television. "It's great to have all the cameras here and everyone watching. It makes the (victory) cigar that much better."

Watching him smoke his triumphant cigar in the locker room and pose with the Alan I. Rothenberg trophy with his parents to his side, veteran midfielder Ben Olsen pontificated about what makes his goal-scoring teammate so great.

"He's a pain in the ass in the locker room; a pain in the ass at practice; and a pain in the ass on the field," joked Olsen, noting Esky's competitive streak and willfulness that's had him champing at the bit for the majority of his two years as he fought to be a starting player. "He's a Jersey kid, through and through. He plays the game angry when he's out there. He's an angry player, and all he wants to do is score goals."

Marc Connolly covers American soccer for ESPN Soccernet.com. He can be reached at: marc@oakwoodsoccer.com