Olmes Garcia is on to the semifinals.
The AT&T Goal of the Year voting is down to the Final Four and after three rounds, Real Salt Lake’s explosive, three-pass set-piece sequence that led to Garcia’s goal against the Columbus Crew is among the last remaining survivors.
Garcia’s goal, which came off a sequence of passes from Luke Mulholland, Kyle Beckerman and Joao Plata all in tight spaces, has gotten the best of goals by Rob Lovejoy of the Houston Dynamo, MLS Rookie of the Year Cyle Larin of Orlando City SC and reigning MLS MVP Robbie Keane to reach the semifinal. There he will face likely 2015 MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco with a shot in the final on the line.
Four RSL goals were among those nominated for Goal of the Year, with two goals from Javier Morales and another from Devon Sandoval all being eliminated earlier in the tournament.
On the set piece goal against the Crew – dubbed “The Annexation of Puerto Rico” by RSL video guru Tyler Gibbons – Mulholland played the free kick to the top of the box to Beckerman who touched a pass wide to the right side to Plata. He then sent it back across the goal mouth for Garcia to touch it into the net for a remarkable team goal.
To vote for Olmes Garcia and see the other goals in the Semifinal Round, click here. Voting runs through Saturday at 10:55 p.m. MT.