The former face of Toronto FC is the MLS Player of the Week. The North American Soccer Reporters voted Dwayne De Rosario as the top performer of week 20. The Scarborough native notched both goals — each of them a highlight-reel finish — as D.C. United went on the road and defeated the San Jose Earthquakes by a 2-0 score.

When making trades, what is often lost in the business of the sports are the human stories behind the scenes that media and fans often never hear about. When a player is traded, there can be hostility towards the old club because a pre-existing situation (i.e. Dwayne De Rosario’s contract situation) or simply because they were traded and, as a result, felt unwanted. However, there are those rare instances where a player is thankful and happy to have been traded and still keep in touch with his former manager as a result.

Love him or hate him, Dwayne De Rosario is big news again. Less than three months after Toronto FC traded the attacking midfielder and former face of the franchise to the New York Red Bulls, he has been sent to D.C. United.

Canada knows that it must go to Kansas City and beat Panama, which leads the group with six points. (The U.S. and Canada have three each). If Canada beats Panama, and the U.S., as expected, beats Guadeloupe, we would have a three-way tie for first. And this is where it gets interesting. The Gold Cup tiebreakers — when more than two teams finish even on points, that is — is the goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question. In real English: The goals in the Guadeloupe games won’t count.

The U.S. stormed their rivals in the opening 15 minutes and were gifted an early goal before Canada could settle down in Detroit. The red and white played a much better second half but big plays at the right moments for the Americans were key to a 2-0 victory Tuesday in the Gold Cup opener for both sides.

The time for talking is over — in just over 24 hours, Canada will look to upstage its rivals from the Unites States as both teams begin their Gold Cup campaigns in Detroit. Whenever the U.S. and Canada play each other it’s a big game, but when the neighbours take to the pitch on Tuesday night, the Red and White will also have revenge on its mind.

Tosaint Ricketts picked a fine time to score his first goal for Canada — an injury time strike to rescue a 2-2 result against Ecuador. Trailing 2-1 at the 90-minute mark, Canada was desperate to push forward for the equalizer.

The script was reversed on Saturday. The fireworks came early at Empire Field, and then the Vancouver Whitecaps and New York Red Bulls played out a tense chess match in the second half as the club drew 1-1. When the Whitecaps play at home, Canadian soccer fans have become used to seeing last-second comebacks, second-half momentum changes and thrills right before the final whistle.

But, today, the Canadian Soccer Association announced the launch of a new online store, where fans can buy jerseys, warm-up gear and other licensed products. Reps from Umbro Canada confirmed that the prices in the online store are identical to the MSRPs for the physical retailers.

There is one honour that belongs to Geoff Aunger that no other Canadian soccer player can ever take from him. Aunger, the Red Deer, Alta. native who was capped 44 times by the national team, was the first Canadian to ever play on an MLS Cup winner, the D.C. United side of 1999 that some would argue is still the greatest team to ever play in the league. “Making it in that league at that time was very difficult,” said Aunger, who now works in New York as a private banker. “At the time, we, the Canadian players, counted as import players."