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With reigning MLS Golden Boot winner Christian Benteke sidelined, Joao Peglow emerged as an unlikely hero for D.C. United, scoring a brace in a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night in Harrison, N.J.

It was a long-awaited win as D.C. (2-4-3, 9 points) snapped a four-match losing streak and ended an eight-game run without a win against New York, a skid which began in 2022.

In the Atlantic Cup rivalry matchup, D.C. also handed New York (3-3-3, 12 points) its first home loss this season in five matches.

The goals for Peglow, a 23-year-old Brazilian winger who was signed in December from Polish first division team Radomiak Radom, were his first two in MLS.

They came nine minutes apart, late in the first half, after Benteke departed in the 29th minute with an apparent thigh injury. Benteke led MLS with 23 goals last year and has five this season.

Peglow’s first goal came on a goal kick assist from D.C. keeper Luis Barraza. Peglow headed a bouncing ball backward past a defender, ran it down and fired a right-footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom right corner.

Then in the 44th minute, Peglow fired a sensational sidewinding bicycle kick from the right side of the 6-yard box, tucking it in the top left corner. Aaron Herrera assisted with a header for a 2-0 lead.

New York retaliated in the 57th minute. Off a corner kick, Emil Forberg sent a header across the box to Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who settled the pass with his chest and drove a left-footed shot into the top right corner, cutting the deficit in half.

After that, the Red Bulls’ best chance came in the 84th minute off a corner kick. In a scramble in the 6-yard box, Barraza lunged to the turf to make one of his two saves.

It was a satisfying victory for D.C. and coach Troy Lesesne who played a role in building the Red Bulls’ streak against its longtime MLS rival, serving as a New York assistant in 2022 and as its head coach for much of the following season.

It was the 91st regular-season MLS match in the series between two of the league’s founding members. No other pair of MLS teams have faced each other as many times.

–Field Level Media