After Emilio Scores Twice, United Bogs Down and Settles for a Tie
United 2, Chivas USA 2

By Steven Goff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 7, 2007

CARSON, Calif., Sept. 6 -- On an evening of odd bounces and defensive follies, D.C. United let an early two-goal lead evaporate and settled for a 2-2 tie with Chivas USA on Thursday night before an announced crowd of 9,306 at Home Depot Center.

Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio reclaimed the MLS scoring lead with his 15th and 16th goals, but Ante Razov halved the deficit with an accidental goal late in the first half and Lawson Vaughn scored the equalizer on a deflected shot 15 minutes after intermission.

"We had about 20 minutes of soccer in us, and then you could see it wasn't the same the rest of the game," United Coach Tom Soehn said. "But we got a result on the road and we'll take it."

The result snapped United's six-game winning streak in league play, but earned the club a point and broke its first-place tie with New England in the Eastern Conference. United (13-6-4, 43 points) will host the Revolution (12-5-6, 42) on Sunday afternoon.

There had been speculation that, with a showdown against New England approaching and another game Wednesday at RFK Stadium, Soehn might alter his lineup against Chivas (11-6-4). But with all going so well for United, he stuck with the same starting unit that dismantled Dallas, 4-0, last Saturday.

While United has had to endure the busiest stretch of its season, Chivas had 10 days to prepare for Thursday's match. Unbeaten at home and having allowed just two goals there, Chivas was primed to beat D.C. for the first time in six meetings and slide into a first-place tie with Houston in the Western Conference.

But it was United that displayed superior efficiency in the early stages.

In the third minute, Jaime Moreno fed Emilio between two defenders just beyond the penalty area. With time and space, Emilio lashed a 17-yard shot into the top left corner, handing Chivas its first home deficit of the season and continuing United's trend of early strikes.

It began two weeks ago with Ben Olsen's sixth-minute goal against New York, was followed by Fred's game-winner in the eighth minute at Toronto and resumed last weekend when Olsen connected from 35 yards.

Christian Gomez caught Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan off his line in the 13th minute from 60 yards, but the daring bid floated over the crossbar. Later, after Gomez tested Guzan from a more reasonable distance and Sacha Kljestan forced Troy Perkins to make a leaping save, United went ahead 2-0 on Emilio's second goal. Moreno ripped an angled shot that Guzan failed to cover, allowing Emilio to deposit it into the right corner in the 26th minute.

Despite the advantage, United's lead was hardly safe. Chivas was stretching United's defense, carving channels in D.C.'s backline and finding room inside the penalty area. The next goal, though, was not a product of Chivas's ingenuity, but of a United misadventure.

Chivas's Paulo Nagamura sent a ball into United's end, out of Razov's reach but dangerous enough that Perkins needed to come out to clear it. He got there in plenty of time, but as Razov turned to protect himself, Perkins's kick struck Razov in the hip, caromed past the stunned keeper and slithered toward the net. Perkins gave chase, but couldn't catch up.

Chivas pressed for the equalizer, and nearly got it in the 39th on another frightening moment for United's defense. This time, Bobby Boswell attempted to clear Kljestan's dangerous cross and sent the ball crashing off the left post.

Shortly after the break, Perkins rescued United from another messy situation, blocking Kljestan's touch in the box. He wasn't as fortunate in the 60th minute when Kljestan played the ball back to Vaughn, whose blast deflected off the foot of United's Clyde Simms and past the helpless Perkins for his first career goal.

Both clubs labored to mount a formidable attack the rest of the night, although Chivas did have a breakaway nullified by an offside call that replays showed was incorrect. When the final whistle sounded, United had stretched its unbeaten streak in MLS road games to five and Chivas had inched closer to the Western lead.

United Note: Third-string goalkeeper Shawn Crowe will have arthroscopic knee surgery next week and be sidelined at least a month, club officials said. If necessary, United would have the option of calling up a replacement from the MLS player pool.