Wayne Rooney had not scored entering his third match of the MLS season, but ended the night averaging a goal a game after a classy hat trick helped D.C. United to a comfortable 5-0 win over Real Salt Lake.
RSL came into the night unbeaten through two matches, but two goals from Rooney before halftime had the home side rolling.
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The first came from the penalty spot 34 minute in, while a clever chip doubled D.C. United's lead on 41 minutes.
It all fell apart for Salt Lake from there, with Jefferson Savarino shown his marching orders on the stroke of halftime to leave the team down a man.
Rooney netted his third of the night on 65 minutes, sliding in to tap home from a Junior Moreno cross.
First hat trick in MLS: ✅@WayneRooney was on another level. pic.twitter.com/7BgldTB7lM
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 17, 2019
A second red card for Real Salt Lake soon followed, Marcelo Silva picking up his second booking of the night, and D.C. United continued to tack on the goals late.
Lucas Rodríguez netted a stunning first MLS goal from a Rooney corner, and Ulises Segura took advantage of some sloppy defending to finish out the lopsided scoreline.
😱😱😱@LuquiiRodriguez scores a stunner for his first MLS goal! #DCvRSL https://t.co/YA6XeVlFAp
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 17, 2019
The win moved D.C. top of the Eastern Conference with seven points from three matches, but the team atop the West is still perfect, with the Seattle Sounders rolling to another big win on Saturday.
Víctor Rodríguez, Jordan Morris, Nicolas Lodeiro and Raul Ruidiaz all found the net for the Sounders as they rolled to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Fire.
The win sees Seattle keep its perfect start to the season rolling, having now won three straight to open the season after making a habit of slow starts over the last couple of years.
In stark contrast, the San Jose Earthquakes are still searching for their first win under Matias Almeyda.
For the second straight match San Jose showed well in the first half only to fall apart in the second, losing 4-1 to the New York Red Bulls despite taking a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Columbus Crew are tied atop the Eastern Conference with D.C. having secured a 1-0 win over FC Dallas, Gaston Sauro netting the only goal of the match just 10 minutes in.
The most entertaining match of the day saw the Houston Dynamo secure a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Memo Rodríguez opened the scoring for Houston 15 minutes in before Fredy Montero and Alberth Elis traded goals from the penalty spot.
Lass Bangoura's first MLS goal pulled the Whitecaps level just after halftime, but it was Rodríguez who found a winner for the home side, sneaking in on the back post for a 73rd minute finish.
What a day for @40_jrod and @alberthelis17. #ForeverOrange pic.twitter.com/MwOFCvv2gx
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 16, 2019
The win keeps Houston unbeaten in league play on the year, having picked up seven points from three matches.
The Montreal Impact moved to six points from three matches with a 3-1 win over Orlando City.
Orji Okwonkwo and Ignacio Piatti struck just a minute apart early on in the contest, with Piatti adding a second on 80 minutes to put the match to bed despite a late consolation strike from Dom Dwyer.
Despite entering the night with two wins from two, Minnesota United could not keep pace with the Sounders in the Western Conference, falling 3-1 to the LA Galaxy, who were once again playing without Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Jonathan dos Santos scored from the spot to open 36 minutes in and Chris Pontius doubled the advantage before the break.
The Loons got back into the match briefly through Jan Gregus, who saw his shot slip past Galaxy goalkeeper David Bingham, but Sebastian Lletget netted six minutes later to restore the two-goal advantage.
Angelo Rodríguez struck in the 87th to give Minnesota some late hope, only to come up short of pulling off the improbably comeback.
