United's Defense Stumbles Against Rapids

Rapids 2, United 1

DENVER, May 6 -- This was supposed to be a match that would have the dynamic United offense salivating.

D.C. United entered Saturday night's game against the Colorado Rapids with 11 goals, the most in Major League Soccer. The Rapids had surrendered nine goals, the second-most in the league, and had been particularly dreadful in the first half, during which Colorado had allowed seven goals.

United was unable to victimize the Rapids during the first 45 minutes and didn't fare much better after the break against Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon, who made several standout saves to lift Colorado to a 2-1 victory at Invesco Field.

It was the first loss of the season for United, which fell to 3-1-2 and wasted an opportunity to overtake Kansas City, which tied Chicago, at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. United fell two points behind the Wizards and remains five points ahead of the third-place Fire.

Cannon "made some good saves, but the chances we created, we have enough experience and enough offensive firepower to score those goals," United Coach Peter Nowak said. "There were good saves, but in some cases we didn't focus on the last pass."

Ben Olsen, named last week to the U.S. World Cup squad, was held out by Nowak because of a slightly strained groin, a move that perhaps contributed to the club's sluggish start.

Christian Gomez put United ahead four minutes after halftime, touching a shot past Cannon and erasing some of the frustrations United suffered against Cannon during the first half.

Gomez tested Cannon in the eighth minute, curling a free kick that a diving Cannon barely deflected. A Jamil Walker shot from just beyond the box forced another sprawling save by Cannon, but United finally solved the Rapids' goalie early in the second half.

Working on a 3-on-2 break, forward Alecko Eskandarian moved the ball up the middle of the field before sliding a pass to Josh Gros charging down the right wing. Gros's centering pass sparked a footrace between Gomez and Cannon, which Gomez won by deflecting the ball for his second goal of the season.

That tally, however, was nullified moments later when defender Facundo Erpen was called for a foul inside the box after tackling Jovan Kirovski from behind near the end line. United goalkeeper Troy Perkins guessed correctly on Kirovski's ensuing penalty kick, but the shot rolled just beyond Perkins's outstretched arms into the corner of the net.

After United midfielder Bryan Namoff cleared a Rapids shot off the goal line in the 66th minute, Gros's left-footed attempt at a go-ahead goal minutes later was thwarted by another diving stop by Cannon. Jaime Moreno had a chance in the 78th minute after a corner kick, but his shot could not slip through the traffic in front of the Rapids' net.

Nicolas Hernandez scored the winner for Colorado in the 84th minute, slicing across the box before beating Perkins for his first goal of the season.

Cannon almost single-handedly kept United from earning a victory, finishing with six saves as United outshot the Rapids 8-4.

"Any time you lose, it's a missed opportunity," Gros said. "Especially when you have three points in our hand, then one point, and then we're going home with zero. It's a big loss for us, but it's still early in the season and we have plenty of time to figure things out."

United Note: Walker was replaced by Freddy Adu in the 44th minute after suffering a hamstring injury. Nowak said Walker would be reevaluated Sunday.