The margin between great and perfect for Aaron Wheeler is about a foot.

When the 6-4 striker made his MLS debut Wednesday night in the 90th minute of the Philadelphia Union’s 3-0 win over Columbus Crew, it was a dream come true. The dream, though, almost got better when Wheeler found space down the left flank and found himself on a 2-v-1 with the league’s leading goalscorer, Jack McInerney.

After galloping into the free acreage before him, Wheeler squared a pass to McInerney, and McInerney’s right-footed drive beat Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum but missed the far post by about a foot. The shot, which Union manager John Hackworth admitted afterward that McInerney should’ve finished, would’ve been the 20-year-old’s 11th goal of the season ... and the first assist of Wheeler’s career.

“I haven't, but all the guys have been giving him a little slack for it,” a beaming Wheeler joked afterward from teh locker room of PPL Park. “They joked after that he said ‘I hate you Wheeler,’ before he shot it. He’s the leading goalscorer in the league; the guy finishes those nine times out of ten. It’s just unlikely that I happened to be the guy to pass to him that one time.”
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