D.C. United rally for 2-2 draw against league leaders in LA

By Chris Hummer, PSW Editor

D.C. United started their visit to league-leading Chivas USA in Los Angeles on Saturday night with the confidence they could come away with some points and remain atop of the Eastern Conference standings. Then Ben Olsen left the match with an injury in the eighth minute, and despite some promising play, gave up a goal - albeit a clear missed offside call by the Assistant Referee.

As a little bit of here-we-go-again set in the air for many United fans, Chivas put another goal past Louis Crayton just before half time, apparently deflating the Black and Red, and likely causing many east coast TV viewers to call it a night as it half time was around midnight in the east.

United however had other plans, and were far from dozing off. Holding the Goats in their pen for much of the second half, then roaring to life with two late goals to snatch the all important road points, stretch their unbeaten streak to seven games in all competitions, and retain a tie for first place in the East.

The first goal was an amazing one-touch in the box by Luciano Emilio, reaching around his well-positioned defender at full stretch, getting just enough of a foot on the ball to redirect inside the far post at the 77 minute mark. The goal broke a record-setting streak of over 400 minutes without conceding a goal by Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thorton, but his next scoreless streak would last just eight minutes.

Thorton could only punch away an impressive left-footed cross from rookie Rodney Wallace, but his clearance rolled perfectly to a salivating Santino Quaranta 30-yards from goal. His first-time strike hovered just off the ground for most of its trip goalward, narrowly missing a redirect attempt from Cristian Gomez that froze Thorton before smashing the same netting as Emilio\'s previous strike.

"I tried to get it on frame and I struck it perfectly and it moved a little bit and went right down inside the corner." said Quaranta of his first goal of the 2009 campaign.

Despite calls in the stands and by some early media accounts for offside to be called on Gomez, video replays clearly showed the Argentine was safely level with his defender as the ball was struck, negating any debate of whether he was involved in the play at all.

Given the way things started, United should be happy to get out of LA with a point while knowing they did what necessary for the full three points had a bad call gone their way. Nonetheless, the ability to never go to bed, to fight until the last second, and continually succeed in scoring late equalizers or game-winners is a hallmark of all great teams, and a valuable asset for any team with championship aspirations.

Head Coach Tom Soehn concurred following the match, "The guys are resilient, and once again we showed the character that we’ve shown all year that we’re not going to lose, we’re going to give everything we have. We’re proud of the passion that they showed, and the character, and the heart."

So far this season, no other team has come close to the "you can never count them out" status that Untied has achieved in 2009. That sort of ability wins championships, and if United can find a way to avoid recurring defensive lapses, a fifth MLS Championship could quickly come into focus.
 

D.C. United (3-1-6) vs. Chivas USA (7-1-2)
May 16, 2009 -- The Home Depot Center

Scoring Summary:
CHV -- Maykel Galindo 1 (Atiba Harris 1, Eduardo Lillingston 1) 25
CHV -- Eduardo Lillingston 3 (Atiba Harris 2) 43
DC -- Luciano Emilio 5 (Santino Quaranta 5) 77
DC -- Santino Quaranta 1 (unassisted) 85

D.C. United — Louis Crayton, Bryan Namoff, Dejan Jakovic, Marc Burch, Santino Quaranta, Ben Olsen (Andrew Jacobson 7) (Christian Gomez 70), Clyde Simms, Rodney Wallace, Chris Pontius (Fred 46), Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio.

Substitutes Not Used: Avery John, Devon McTavish, Ange N\'Silu, Josh Wicks

Chivas USA — Zach Thornton, Mariano Trujillo, Carey Talley, Shavar Thomas, Jonathan Bornstein, Atiba Harris (Bojan Stepanovic 56), Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Justin Braun, Maykel Galindo (Sasha Victorine 61), Eduardo Lillingston (Alecko Eskandarian 67).

Substitutes Not Used: Chukwudi Chijindu, Jim Curtin, Gerson Mayen, Lance Parker

Misconduct Summary:
DC -- Clyde Simms (caution; Reckless Tackle) 36
CHV -- Bojan Stepanovic (caution; Reckless Foul) 69
DC -- Bryan Namoff (caution; Reckless Tackle) 72
DC -- Dejan Jakovic (caution; Reckless Foul) 84

Referee: Mark Geiger
Referee\'s Assistants: Anthony Vasoli; Emiliano Monje
4th official: Alex Prus
Time of game: 1:51
Attendance: 16,223
Weather: Partly Cloudy -and- 64 degrees