Sacha Kljestan's prolific assist-making for the New York Red Bulls had already propelled him to the club's all-time top four for career assists before the end of his second season with RBNY.
And he set a new record for single-season assists in league play for RBNY earlier this year.
But he got two more assists in the Red Bulls' 3-2 win over Columbus Crew, and they lifted his season's total to 19. The 19th was, fittingly, a set-piece delivery that brought Kljestan a secondary assist.
With 19 assists in 2016, Kljestan has tied the RBNY record for single-season assists in all competitions set by Thierry Henry in 2014. Remarkably, Kljestan hasn't assisted anyone in USOC or CCL, and the playoffs have yet to begin: his share of the all-competitions record is built entirely on his work in one competition - the MLS regular season.
If he gets one more in RBNY's last regular-season game of the year (against Philadelphia Union), Kljestan will be the first player in MLS to register 20 assists in a league campaign since Carlos Valderrama in 2000. If he gets one more between now and RBNY's last playoff game, he will be the first Red Bull or MetroStar to ever register a 20-assist season for the club.
Congrats, Sacha!