The jokes keep getting better for Ben Olsen. So do the statistics.
Olsen was named Major League Soccer player of the week Tuesday after scoring twice in D.C. United’s 4-0 win over FC Dallas last weekend, his second multi-goal game of the season. His career-high seven goals for the year is second best on the team and tied for seventh in the league.
“I tell people to only refer to me as Roy Lassiter now,” said Olsen, talking about to the prolific forward who led United in scoring in 1998 and 1999. “The guys in the locker room can only call me that — if they want me to answer, at least.”
After his hat trick against New York in June, Olsen said he received more messages than he had when he got married last winter.
Olsen, 30 years old and in his ninth MLS season, was hardly expected to be an offensive force this year, but he’s taken advantage of United’s shift from a 3-5-2 formation to a 4-4-2, moving from a central defensive midfield role out to the right wing, where he had nine goals and 19 assists in his first two professional seasons.
But for most of his last six years in MLS — Olsen missed the 2001 season with a broken ankle — he’s been in the middle and averaged around two goals and three assists.
“When Benny has cover behind him, although he’s not as fast as he used to be, he’s still so clever as to create space for himself and realizes times to push forward in the attack,” said United coach Tom Soehn. “I think we still miss him quite a few times when he makes good runs.”
The formation change and Olsen’s production also explain the relative decline from Christian Gomez (six goals, five assists), who had 14 goals and 11 assists in 2006.
“With the formation, you’re going to get more out of your flanks,” said Soehn. “It plays different for Christian’s role in that system, too. The idea is to create stuff from the backside through service.”
