Patrick Mullins didn't finish first in this weekend's Audi Player Index -- he had to settle for second best to Darren Mattocks -- but the D.C. United forward had an historic evening in Saturday's 4-0 demolition of the San Jose Earthquakes; let's delve into his accomplishments.
The 25-year-old scored all four of D.C.'s goals, having scored none in all of his 15 appearances prior to the weekend. Even more impressive, his quadruple arrived in the second half, making Mullins the first player in MLS history to score four goals in a half.
He's the 11th player in league history to ever score four goals in a game, but Mullins' quadruple took just 31 minutes, making it the fastest four by any one player to ever happen in MLS.
Amazingly, Mullins' accomplishment is the fourth time a D.C. player has scored four times in a game; the New York Red Bulls are the only other franchise to have more than one four-goal game in its history.
In addition to his four goals, Mullins also completed 18 passes in the attacking half -- 11 of which occurring in the attacking third -- which is a season-high in both categories.
