Drought finally ends for Eskandarian

Thestar - `It felt good to get the goal,' says TFC star of ending skid

The father said he was still waiting for a goal.

The son made sure he didn't wait long.

Not only was Alecko Eskandarian's goal in the 44th minute yesterday the energetic striker's first goal for his new team, but it came against the his old club, DC United. DC United traded Eskandarian to Toronto for cash this winter, and the 24-year old was glad to pay them back with a goal.

The goal also appeased his father, former New York Cosmo Andranik Eskandarian, who had kidded Alecko earlier this week about remaining scoreless for so long.

Eskandarian broke a goalless streak that stretched back to last season.

"It's a bit of a monkey off my back," says Eskandarian, who played four seasons with DC. "I would rather get the three points and the win but I tried to do my part today. It felt good to get the goal but it's bittersweet."

Scoring droughts are foreign territory to Eskandarian, who scored so often in high school the league adopted a rule to stop him from shooting.

As a freshman at the University of Virginia he set records for goals (16) and points (38), then scored 20 goals in 80 games with DC.

After going scoreless through the season's first four games, he injured his right calf in practice and had to sit out last Saturday's match against Chicago. He played 60 minutes yesterday before Edson Buddle replaced him, but says his calf is back to normal and he could have played the whole game.

He says his father never pressured him about scoring, but as a former pro himself, his dad had plenty of advice.

The grandson of Armenians who fled genocide by the Turks, Andranik was a rugged defender who played 29 games with Iran's national team.

After the 1978 World Cup, Andranik signed with the New York Cosmos of the NASL.

"He's always very positive with me," says Eskandarian, who as a kid would kick the ball around with some of his dad's teammates, including Pele. "He tells me to keep plugging away."

Andranik thinks his son plays too conservatively these days, and needs to return to the game-breaking style that won him the Hermann Trophy – soccer's version of the Heisman – as a junior at the University of Virginia.

"I agree with him but the style that we play calls for me to do a lot of defensive work," he says. "You just kind of have to swallow your pride and do what you're told."