D.C. United has surged forward into the Eastern Conference playoff race thanks in large part to the breakout performances of midfielder Luciano Acosta.

The young Argentinian has really come into his own over the past month as he has accumulated four goals in six assists in five games last month. That level of production earns him SBI’s MLS Player of the Month honors for the month of September.

Acosta’s month started off with a bang as he scored twice in D.C. United’s 3-1 win over Atlanta United. After a relatively quiet game at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC a few days later, he provided a pair of assists back home in a 2-1 win over Minnesota United.

That’s when his real hot streak began. Acosta followed up that performance against the Loons with a goal and an assist in a 3-3 Atlantic Cup draw against the New York Red Bulls on September 16.

The crown jewel of the month, however, came just last Saturday as Acosta scored a goal and provided three assists in a 5-0 hammering of the Montreal Impact at Audi Field.

Acosta’s season has been full of highlights even before September. He has nine goals and he leads all of MLS with 16 assists on the season. He’s formed quite the attacking partnership with Wayne Rooney. Eight of his nine goals have come since the English forward joined the squad in July and he’s provided the final helper on two of Rooney’s seven MLS goals.

Speaking of Rooney, he had a strong month as well with four goals of his own. Miguel Almiron was also excellent for Atlanta United. Should either of them have gotten the nod over Acosta for Player of the Month?

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