I'm calling an audible today for Throwback Thursday. Normally I try to focus on a past D.C. United matchup with this weekend's upcoming opponent. Today, however, with the news that Luis Silva is Wasatch-bound in return for Alvaro Saborio, I had to take the opportunity to highlight the newest member of the Claret and Cobalt's best performance for the Black-and-Red. It came last June, in a visit to the Great White North. The French-speaking part.
This game at Stade Saputo is still remembered by fans in the DMV for a few different reasons. It's the Felipe Game, the night then-Impact (now Red Bulls) midfielder Felipe Martins crashed into Fabian Espindola at the opening whistle, leading to the forward's halftime removal and six-week injury abscense. It's the night Espindola nevertheless recorded three assists (and a yellow card for raking Felipe's heel while play was stopped). And it's the night Luis Silva scored a hat trick in the first half. I think you'll notice from the video above, basically all the action happened in the first 45 minutes.
I'm not sure I can think of a better performance to put on Silva's resume than this one. His movement and finishing on the first goal are top notch. His second goal from distance was a thing of beauty. And the penalty topper was smooth and businesslike. That said, feel free to take to the comments with memories that might challenge this one for Silva's top outing, or just share some of your favorites of his time with los Capitalinos.