When it was announced that Wayne Rooney would leave Everton and the Premier League for the MLS in June, many viewed it as a semi-retirement.For various reasons, the MLS is regarded as a retirement league for older players looking for one last hurrah before hanging up their boots.David Beckham somewhat started the trend when he joined LA Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007, aged 32, and since then many other big names have followed him.Robbie Keane, Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole, Kaka, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Villa, Andrea Pirlo, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Zlatan Ibrahimovic - you get the picture.What each of those players had in common when they moved to the MLS was that they were on the wrong side of 30, and now Rooney has joined that club (32).However, any suspicions that the former England captain would treat his time in America as a chance to wind down were completely proved wrong on Sunday night.DC United headed into their game against Orlando City bottom of the Eastern Conference and in desperate need of a win.

ROONEY TO THE RESCUE

They look the lead through Luciano Acosta just before half-time but were soon pegged back when David Ousted scored an own goal.

Acosta then bagged a second before Orlando's Dom Dwyer made it 2-2 with 19 minutes remaining, setting up a nervy finish.

What happened in the 96th minute - the final minute of stoppage time - was simply incredible.

At a corner, DC United sent every single player forward - even their goalkeeper - in search of a late winner.

So when the ball was cleared up the pitch and collected by an Orlando player with the net wide open, it looked like the away side would steal all three points.

But out of nowhere, Rooney came roaring back to make a goal-saving sliding tackle, jump to his feet and launch a cross back into the Orlando box.

Acosta then rose highest to head home for his hat-trick and send the Audi Field absolutely wild. Check out Rooney's insane assist in the video below.

It's no exaggeration that Rooney had just produced one of the greatest assists ever seen in football.

From running all the way back to his own half, stopping an inevitable goal with a slide tackle and then assisting the winner, it was vintage Rooney. So much for an early retirement.