Three goals against the New York Red Bulls in the semifinals of the MLS Cup. Who would have thought that the man who scored those goals nearly took his last breath laying on the ground on George Washington Parkway in Washington D.C.?

Charlie Davies had been a star. He started his career in Sweden on a club called Hammarby. When then-U.S. Men’s Soccer coach Bob Bradley went on a recruiting trip prior to the 2010 World Cup to Europe, he saw what he needed.

After losing to Italy and Brazil and scoring one goal in 180 minutes, Bradley knew he needed a flat-out scorer, and Davies was the one. Charlie Davies would score once against Brazil in the Confederations Cup and once again against Mexico in the same tournament.

After clinching a 2010 World Cup birth in Honduras, his team flew to Washington D.C. to play at RFK Stadium against Costa Rica. However, Davies would not being playing in the game since he was hurt. He ate dinner with Stuart Holden, a teammate, and then when they finished, they met two women, Maria Espinoza and Ashley J. Roberta. The two women, who were from the D.C. area, asked them if they wanted to go to Shadow Room, a local nightclub. Holden declined, however, since his spot on the team wasn’t as solidified as Davies.

Charlie Davies got a ride with Espinoza to Shadow Room. At the end of the night, Davies would reconnect with the two women he met earlier. Davies had not consumed any alcohol and says the two women didn’t appear drunk or unable to drive home. Davies got into their gray Infiniti SUV willingly to get driven home. That would be one of the biggest decisions of his life.

When the three were heading down George Washington Parkway, Espinoza, who was drunk at the wheel, lost control of the SUV and crashed into the guard, splitting the vehicle into two pieces. Ashley J. Roberta was pronounced dead when the ambulance and EMTs arrived at the scene of the accident.

Charlie Davies sustained several injuries, including a lacerated bladder, head trauma, and a fractured right femur and tibia. Davies only remembers putting on his seatbelt and nothing else about the night.

Davies was surrounded by his wife, teammates, and close friends when he was recovery. Another close friend of his, Oguchi Onyewu, who ruptured his patella tendon in the Costa Rica game, completed physical therapy with Davies. When Onyewu skipped his pain meds for the day, Davies would do the same. Everything Davies did exhausted him, from using crunches to going down the hall to even just lifting his leg. However, Davies says that with his wife supporting him all the time, he wouldn’t give up.

In about 8 to 10 months, Davies was pulling on a resistance cord says Davies’ trainer. After going overseas to Sochaux and back to D.C. United then back to Europe, he was loaned to the New England Revolution. Here, he helped the Revolution get back to the old team they used to be, getting to the semifinals and now even the finals.

Davies scored four goals so far in the MLS Playoffs and scored two in the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Red Bulls. Charlie Davies was brimming with confidence back in 2009 when he was American soccer’s next big thing and then he was considering giving up in the hospital after his tragic accident. Now, he is giving the New England Revolution a shot at the MLS Cup.

Charlie Davies has gone through a lot in the past seven years but through all of it, his perspective on life has changed for the better.