‘I Decided’—U.S. Soccer Player Explains Beer Celebration After Late MLS Winner

Sam Sarver has impressed off the bench with FC Dallas over the past several weeks.

Sam Sarver has become an MLS icon in 2026. | Kavin Mistry/Getty Images, John Hefti/Imagn Images

The vibes were high with FC Dallas on Saturday and Samuel Sarver soaked up every moment.

For the third time in four games, the 23-year-old U.S. forward made an immediate impact off the bench, scoring a goal, this time securing all three points with a 3–2 road win against the San Jose Earthquakes, a team that entered the night sitting tied at the top of the Western Conference. 

For the celebration, Sarver first grabbed his teammates and sat on the advertising boards, tilting back and plugging their noses to imitate a scuba diver’s entry into the water. As he got up, he embraced a beer shower from San Jose fans, before picking up a can, puncturing it with his thumb and downing it in front of the camera, drenching himself in the beverage. 

SAM SARVER IS BOX OFFICE!

A potential game-winner and a plethora of celebrations to match. 🍻 pic.twitter.com/LHchMZDzGL

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 17, 2026

“My coach at Indiana, Todd Yeagley, told me about a player from way before I got there that used to do that scuba celebration, and he yelled at him for it because he didn’t want him to get hurt. And I was like, ‘It’d be funny if we did that,’” Sarver said postmatch. “After we did that, they were throwing some beers on the field, so I decided to chug one.”

The 2025 MLS Next Pro player of the year now has three goals in 183 MLS minutes this season, and is proving a valuable presence off the bench for Dallas, which rose to fifth in the Western Conference.

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Not the First to Do It

Sam Sarver is quickly becoming a legend in MLS circles. | John Hefti-Imagn Images

While celebratory beverages in the locker room are commonplace and cups have rained down on players from opposing fans before, rarely does it ever make its way into the game. Yet, Sarver isn’t the first to take in a cold one mid-match. Nor is he the first to do the scuba celebration.

In 1979, Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder and Scotland international Willie Johnston took a swig from a supporter, before swinging in a perfect corner kick to score in a 2–1 win against the same San Jose Earthquakes, albeit in the league that came before MLS’s launch in 1996. 

“I remember I went to take the corner, and this wee boy shouted,” Johnston told AFTN in 2014. “He was a Scotch boy, and he said, ‘Do you want a drink, Willie?’. I said, “Oh yeah, I’d love a drink and I took it, and it was warm, and I went ooof, and I gave it back to him. Then I took the corner, and Peter Daniel scored, and that was it.

“But I wasn’t thinking. They were all shouting for me to take the corner, but I was taking the bottle of beer first. It was warm [outside], but the beer was warmer! I didn’t realize it was going to be like that.”

Meanwhile, Roger Levesque famously did the scuba celebration with the Seattle Sounders against the Portland Timbers in 2009. As for the beer? Clancy Loranger of the Vancouver Province Newspaper referred to the moment as the “San Jose Sip”—nobody is yet to brew a nickname for Sarver’s latest celebration.

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