One week after Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayán unleashed a majestic strike from beyond midfield, Real Salt Lake's Pablo Ruiz might have one-upped him in his club's Matchday 19 clash at D.C. United.
Noticing D.C. United goalkeeper Tyler Miller off his line, the 24-year-old Argentine decided to try his own luck near the left sideline. Ruiz stood 68.24 yards from goal, compared to Zelarayán's 60.98 yards.
Incredibly, the speculative rip was perfectly placed beyond the outstretched arm of a diving Miller and into the top corner, giving RSL a 1-0 lead over 10-man D.C. United in the 41st minute. After the match, RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni said he was left in just as much awe as the rest of us at the spectacular strike.
"I've seen very few of those. I remember when I was playing, ironically against D.C. United when I was in Miami, [Marco] Etcheverry scored a goal from midfield as well," Mastroeni said. "But I think this one, the angle in which he put it in, the distance from which he shot it, the execution was top-class.
"Throughout our scouts, our coaches did a great job identifying that Miller plays off his line and then as the game was progressing he was very aggressive in his positioning and we said just to keep your eye on it. Pablo has a wand for a left foot. And it's an amazing football play, I'm super happy for Pablo. ... I don't know what to say about it, but what I will say is it was a master-class of skill, execution, vision."
Just like Zelarayán's stunner, this one is another instant contender for AT&T 5G Goal of the Year. RSL forward Danny Musovski, who scored the game-winning goal in the eventual 2-1 victory for the visitors, said he fully expects his teammate's wonder strike to take top honors in that department.
"It was an incredible goal. I told him right after, I said, 'Goal of the Year,'" Musovski said. "I don't think we'll see a better goal all season, even though Zelarayán had a nice half-field goal the other day. I think Pablo's was just better just because it was top-corner and just caught Tyler Miller off."
