For a team-first player like Landon Donovan, someone who seems as proud of an assist as he is a goal, personal milestones don’t stir up much emotion. Which might explain why there hasn’t been much noise about the fact that the LA Galaxy star is one goal shy of his 100th MLS goal.
On Sunday afternoon, when the new-look Chicago Fire visit the Home Depot Center (4:30 pm PT, Fox Soccer Channel)—with their newest addition, Freddie Ljungberg, expected to make his club debut—Donovan will have a good chance to reach triple digits. The Fire defense is solid, but not impenetrable: They have conceded 19 goals in 14 matches.
Plus, Donovan has scored five times in 15 career matches against Chicago. Last year, he scored twice.
Donovan scored his first MLS goal on May 19, 2001, in a 2-0 win over New York while playing for the San Jose Earthquakes. In four seasons with the Quakes, he notched 32 goals. He has scored 67 more since moving south to join the Galaxy.
If—or when—LD hits his 100th, he will become the 6th player in league history to reach that milestone and the second-fasted to get there. Jaime Moreno, Jeff Cunningham, Ante Razov, Jason Kreis, and Taylor Twellman each has more than 100 goals, with Twellman the fastest to hit the century mark. The New England ace needed only 174 games to score 100—actually 101—goals. Donovan has played 220 career games so far.
Will his 221st match be the one?
