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On This Day: Brad Davis lifts Sporting to victory with patented left foot

This was a scene most MLS fans never would have imagined: Children's Mercy Park chanting the name of longtime Houston Dynamo star Brad Davis.


However, that's the sort of treatment you get when you score a match-winning goal in front of your new home fans. 


On this day in 2016, Davis, who was acquired from Houston earlier that year, entered as a halftime substitute and scored his first Sporting goal in the 70th minute of a 1-0 win over eventual MLS Cup finalist Toronto FC. The scintillating left-footed effort at Children's Mercy Park extended Sporting's perfect record to 3-0-0, and Manager Peter Vermes' men were well on their way to a sixth consecutive playoff appearance.



At the end of the 2016 campaign, Davis retired from Major League Soccer after a brilliant 15-year career highlighted by 2006 and 2007 MLS Cup championships, 2011 MLS Best XI accolades, six MLS All-Star selections and a 2005 MLS Supporters’ Shield. To this day, his 123 assists and 392 games played rank third and sixth on the all-time MLS regular season charts, respectively.