This day in football history

On 17 April 2004, D.C. United’s Freddy Adu became the youngest goalscorer in MLS history before a crowd of 31,419 at New York’s Giants Stadium.

At 14 years, 320 days, the Ghanian-born U.S. international entered the match in the 54th minute, replacing Alecko Eskandarian. D.C. was trailing 3–1 when Adu put a six-yard shot past MetroStars goalkeeper Jonny Walker in the 75th minute. That was the last goal of the match, however, which ended 3–2 in favor of the MetroStars.

Despite the loss, D.C. went on to win the MLS Cup that year, with Eskandarian claiming the honors for the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Adu stayed with United through the 2005–06 season, making a total of 87 appearances and scoring 11 goals.