Sports Talk: Score Stops Slump for United's Emilio

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WHILE THE BUZZ over Ben Olsen's hat trick continued this week, even the veteran midfielder would tell you that it's not likely to happen again anytime soon.

It's the other goal in last weekend's 4-1 rout over New York, a 49th-minute strike from first-year forward Luciano Emilio, that may be a sign of things to come as D.C. prepares to host Chicago on Saturday. Emilio celebrated with an explosion of joy, racing toward the bench as if he'd just scored the winner in the World Cup final. For the striker, ending a nearly two-month drought was close enough.

"The goal of the striker is to score goals, and so obviously when I scored I felt elated," said Emilio, 28, who played professionally in his native Brazil, Germany, Mexico and Honduras before signing with United in January.

There was plenty of elation this spring, as Emilio proved unstoppable during D.C.'s run to the Champions Cup semis. He scored four times in four games and tallied twice in United's first two matches of the MLS season. Then it all dried up.

Even as United (4-3-2) recovered from its slow start, his struggles continued. By all accounts a valuable locker room addition whose memorable rendition of "You're Beautiful" received considerable attention, thanks to clubhouse blogger Bobby Boswell, Emilio said the buzz about his loss of form didn't worry him.

"I don't really listen to what other people say. Every striker in the world goes through a drought of scoring. But if you keep working, it'll come back to you," he said.

Written by Express contributor Brian Straus
Photo by Presten Keres/The Washington Post