It was too cruel, really.



In the span of about 15 minutes, D.C. United’s Nick DeLeon experienced it all. Trailing by a goal deep in extra time, DeLeon—back in action for only a few weeks after returning from a long-term injury—smashed in the equalizer, forcing a shootout. Moments later, he pushed the decisive penalty kick over the bar in dreadful fashion.



In the training room afterward, DeLeon slouched in the chair before his locker and stared blankly into the distance. A throng of reporters approached.



“I shanked it,” the soft-spoken DeLeon said. “I got underneath it. I don’t know what else to say.”



Nobody else did, either.



Over the previous few months, the once-lowly club had surged back to life, playing beautiful, downright elegant soccer. They did so in a new stadium, behind the leadership of the first legitimate superstar the club had ever signed, and under the newfound warmth of a...