A water-logged pitch is not among the best of conditions for a player looking to break out of a scoring slump in Major League Soccer.
And starter Luciana Acosta found that out Sunday night — the hard way.
The 5-foot-3 dynamo for D.C. United (7-3-2) was held scoreless for the fourth time in five games but teammate Paul Arriola scored a beautiful goal in the 78th minute as the hosts won 1-0 over Sporting Kansas City at Audi Field. It was the second home victory after three straight without a win at Audi.
Arriola got the ball on the left side and smashed a shot with his right foot that curled into the net as goalie Tim Melia dove to his left and just barely nicked the ball.
That got D.C. United off the hook after the hosts outplayed Sporting KC (2-4-4) in the first half but had trouble scoring on a rainy night. The visitors missed a header in the closing seconds of injury time that would have tied the match.
The curling shot that found the back of the net also helped bail out the scoring duo of Wayne Rooney and Acosta.
Acosta, who had no shots in the first half despite 33 touches, has garnered interest from European clubs and is in the last year of his contract with the D.C. club. “The European interest in Lucho is still very real,” ESPN’s Sebastian Salazar said on the MLS official website.
Manchester United of England and Lyon of France have sent officials to see Acosta in the past month, according to the MLS story. If D.C. United doesn’t sign him before July, he could head overseas, according to a team spokesman.
Acosta had a passing accuracy of 73.9 percent in the first half while Wayne Rooney was at 73.7.
Last season Acosta formed a formidable offensive punch with English import Rooney, 33, who has been closer to his 2018 production.
The former England captain had 12 goals on 71 shots in 20 games, with 18 starts, after he joined United last summer. This year, including the match Sunday night, he has six goals — but just two in the last eight matches.
Last season Acosta played in 33 games, with 32 starts, and had 10 goals on 60 shots, while adding 17 assists. This season Acosta had just three goals on 23 shots with two assists in the first 12 games.
The lack of offense almost cost D.C. United, now tied for first in the Eastern Conference with Philadelphia.
But the heavy rain Saturday night and into Sunday morning led to several slips by players, including D.C. United goalie Bill Hamid. Then another band of rain began falling early in the second half around the time Arriola took a slip, grabbed his right leg but stayed in the game.
The hosts outshot Sporting KC 10-4 in the first half, had a 4-0 edge on corners and controlled the ball nearly 54 percent of the time but neither team scored.
D.C. United had several scoring chances in the opening minute.
Rooney was denied a goal on a free kick when Melia dove to his right to deflect a shot in the 13th minute.
Marquinhos Pedroso made his first start for D.C. United after joining the team earlier this month.
In its previous home game, D.C. United won for the first time at Audi Field since March 16 when they beat Columbus on May 4. D.C. United plays Wednesday at Toronto FC (5-4-1), which lost 2-1 to Philadelphia on Saturday.
NOTES: Sporting KC started three players from Hungary: defender Botond Barath and forwards Krisztian Nemeth and Daniel Salloi. D.C. United reserve Zoltan Stieber is also from Hungary … It was the first visit to Audi Field for Sporting KC … The game was broadcast on FS1 and included an all-female trio of broadcasters, including Richmond native and former UNC player Cat Whitehill.
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