Almost a year to the day exactly since he scored the first goal of the 2014 season against D.C. United, it was much more agreeable to have Jairo Arrieta deliver a game winner for the Black-and-Red to begin 2015.
The 31-year-old Costa Rican is D.C. United’s latest savvy reclamation from the annual expansion and re-entry draft pool of players that surface during the Major League Soccer offseason. He also has a golden opportunity to make an impression right away in his new team’s attack, and he wasted no time in United’s gritty 1-0 victory over the Montreal Impact on March 7.
"It's nice to have it the other way around," D.C. United forward Chris Pontius told reporters afterward, reflecting on a performance that was a far cry from the 3-0 defeat to Columbus in March 2014. With Arrieta’s help, United began its latest MLS campaign with another signature performance, shutting down the Impact and taking advantage of its opportunities at the offensive end.
Arrieta was a focal point of the latter, providing the finish to a pinpoint sequence in the 58th minute. After a perfect one-touch pass from Davy Arnaud, Chris Rolfe lofted the ball over the top and Arrieta converged for a deft touch past onrushing Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush.
It was the Costa Rican’s second goal in as many games, having scored against Alajuelense in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League three days earlier. He nearly added an assist against the Impact, too, with an arcing ball for Pontius, only to see the shot bounce off the crossbar.
“I thought he had a great day today,” Rolfe told reporters afterward. “He put in a lot of energy, a lot of work, fought with guys, everything that we asked of him today, he was very good. Today he showed all facets of that. He’s good running off the ball, but he’s also very good with his back to the goal. For me it’s great because we can find his feet and lay the ball off for me coming in from behind. He obviously is a good finisher, so he had a great day.”
It was what D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper and Head Coach Ben Olsen envisioned when they plucked Arrieta from expansion Orlando City for a 2015 international roster spot.
"When I got here, I had the mentality of doing things right," Arrieta told reporters via a translator. "It's a new team, new staff, new coaches, new way of playing. I've accustomed myself pretty well pretty quickly."
United zeroed in on Arrieta when he was left unprotected by the Crew and then taken by the Lions in the expansion draft, and they need plenty from him with Fabián Espíndola suspended and Luis Silva still recovering from injury.
“We’re asking him to connect passes, be in good spots, make it difficult on the two center backs then get it to our wide midfielders or the underneath forward and then be in dangerous spots in the 18,” Olsen said. “He did that [against the Impact]. I thought he finished off the goal very well.”
“When I found out that we signed Jairo in the off-season I was very excited,” United midfielder Davy Arnaud told MLSSoccer.com. "Watching him play last year and over the past few years, I’ve always admired the way that he plays, I like how he plays the game. I was wondering how we got him to be honest with you. Any player who works like he does, I’ll take him on my team for sure.”
