Timbers forward Fanendo Adi has made a name for himself scoring in bunches. The Nigerian striker has seven multi-goal games for the Timbers, which is the most in MLS since his arrival in the Rose City in May of last season. But scoring many goals in a short amount of time is not something Adi learned in Portland.
During a 29-day time span in the summer of 2013, the then 22-year-old scored ten goals across two competitions. Playing for AS Trenčín in Slovakia, Adi's goalscoring binge started on July 13 in the season opener against FC Nitra. Adi thrilled the home crowd with three second-half goals during the club's 4-0 victory. The hat trick came in a 19-minute span and set the tone for what was to come for Adi.
After dispatching Nitra, next up for Trenčín was a road match against Spartak Trnava. Trnava took a 2-0 lead early in the second half, but Trenčín clawed a goal back when Adi turned a midfield turnover into a goal, beating Dobrivoj Rusov at his near post from outside the penalty area.
Next up for Trenčín was an Europa League Qualifier against Swedish side IFK Göteborg on July 25. Adi put his team up early, when a loose ball fell to him in the box. He made no mistake rounding the goalkeeper for his first ever goal in European competition. It wasn't long before Adi put his name on the scoresheet for the second time when he again pounced on a ball in the box and dribbled around John Alvbage before firing home. Adi's two goals held up for a 2-1 victory catapaulting his club into the third qualifying round of Europa League.
The third round of qualifying didn't go in Trenčín's favor as the club lost 5-3 on aggregate to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu. But Adi again found the back of the net when he headed home a corner kick in an away 2-2 draw. But Adi was saving his best game for last.
Playing in his final match with the Slovak side before being transferred to F.C. Copenhagen, Adi earned a penalty kick during the early portions of Trenčín's match with 1904 Dunajska. Adi was just getting started, however, scoring his club's third goal of the match in the 22nd minute. Nine minutes later, Adi put home a right-footed shot on a counterattack for a brace. The hat trick was completed moments before halftime when Adi chested a long ball onto his left foot and blasted a shot into the net.
The incredible goal put an exclamation point on an incredible ten-goal run that culminated in a transfer to a larger club. Two summers after his incredible binge, Adi now finds himself as the leading scorer for the Timbers.
