Earlier this week, I wrote about how increased contributions from Santino Quaranta are needed in order for the team to salvage something from this season. I wasn't singling him out for negative reasons, but he has the potential to provide a lift for this club that few others possess. On the heels of a hat-trick against Portsmouth F.C., we should also focus on another important attacking piece, Danny Allsopp.

When Allsopp scored a pair of goals against Kansas City on May 5, it seemed like the new signee had found his feet in MLS. He was a hero in D.C.s first win of the season. Since then, things haven't been great for Danny. Goal scorers need to score and Danny still has just those two League goals from that win in May. He went through a period where he started six matches in a row, but failed to get decent service. For a player who does most of his damage in the penalty area, service is everything.

Earlier in the season, when describing Allsopps skills as a striker Curt Onalfo often used the phrase, 'He makes very intelligent runs.' Even if Allsopp is the Albert Einstein of diagonal runs, without somebody passing him the ball, he can't score. Things might be a little different now that Pablo Hernandez and Branko Boskovic are in the picture.

Those three players, Allsopp, Hernandez, and Boskovic, all started in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match. It was against a lower division opponent, but playing together, the three players looked creative, comfortable, and confident. There were stretches during that match where the team looked like a classic D.C. United team with possession and flowing soccer in the attacking third. Allsopp didnt score, but he was involved in a lot of nice interplay up top and remained very active on and off the ball. He also did have a nice finish even though he was ruled offsides. A few days later in the international friendly against Portsmouth, Allsopp scored three times in D.C.s 4-0 win.

Certainly, the two results outside of League play won't necessarily translate to more goals in MLS, but goal scorers can be streaky and hat-tricks always encourage confidence. After two solid games for Allsopp against teams that were below the typical MLS standard, he has a chance on Saturday to make a mark against the highest League standard of all in the reigning MLS Cup Champions, Real Salt Lake.