Every rookie needs a vet. Someone to help them adjust to a new level a play, a new environment and new expectations.
Lucky for Orlando City rookie Chris Mueller, it looks like he has been taken under the wing of one of the league’s most prolific goal scorers — Dom Dwyer.
Shortly after drafting the Wisconsin Badger, Dwyer could see his potential.
“He’s exciting to watch every day,” said Dwyer. “He’s someone who I’d like to try and help or give a little kick up the back side if he needs it.”
Just a few months later, you can see the chemistry between the two on the pitch. What sticks out is, that despite a 97 goal difference in their professional careers, they both approach the game with an unmatched enthusiasm. Back flips, knee slides, smiles and winks.
Dwyer recalled the reaction from the rookie after scoring his first professional goal.
“I remember Chris Mueller came up to me after he scored his goal and he said, ‘really, it’s really the craziest feeling I’ve ever felt’.”
Scoring goals is something the two have done in bunches in the early going. With 8 goals between them in just 11 appearances, the duo has been one of the most effective scoring tandems in Major League Soccer.
After Mueller’s goal and assist performance in the win over San Jose, Dwyer had some glowing praise for the rookie.
“Everything’s impressed me. I’m not really surprised to be honest,” said Dwyer. “I saw the first few days in training with us, I just looked at him and said, ‘I think we can play together.’ I really meant it. I think he’s a very talented kid. He’s smart, he’s not just a goal-scorer, he can bring people into the play. You saw today, it was an extremely unselfish effort, sliding Sacha [Kljestan] in, and it was the right choice. Sharing that maturity at a very young age and we’re excited to see him developing.”
The relationship with Dwyer is one that Mueller hasn’t taken for granted.
“It’s an unbelievable thing to be apart of,” said Mueller after witnessing Dwyer’s 100th professional goal. “Dom’s been such a good role model to me and has just given me so much advice as a player. I’m really happy to be apart of that and be on the field to see that moment when he worked so hard to get there.”
We may have just seen the beginning of what these two have to offer. For Mueller, Dom knows one thing for sure.
“We’ve got a special one.”
