D.C. United Draws a Conclusion

Second-Half Comeback Ties the Game, but It Isn't Enough as the Fire Advances on Aggregate Goals: United 2, Fire 2

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United Ousted by Chicago
D.C. United fights back from a two-goal deficit to tie the Fire, 2-2, but Chicago still wins the two-game playoff series to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

D.C. United did enough to tie the match, but not enough to even the series. And as a result, MLS's best team during the regular season flopped again in the postseason.

United overcame a two-goal halftime deficit to tie Chicago, 2-2, last night before 19,438 at RFK Stadium, but because the Fire had earned a 1-0 win in the opener of the two-game, total-goals series last week, a tie was as bad as a loss.

United thought it had forced a 30-minute overtime period to decide the series when Christian Gomez scored during added time, but referee Jair Marrufo ruled that the Argentine playmaker had steered the ball with his hand before shooting.

"It's a very sad moment," team captain Jaime Moreno said. "It was a long season and we didn't want it to end this way."

United faltered defensively in the first half, conceding goals to Chad Barrett and Chris Rolfe in a two-minute span to increase its deficit in the series to three. Clyde Simms responded in the 69th minute for United with the team's first goal in seven all-time postseason games with the Fire, and Gomez added another five minutes later.

But despite a 13-1 advantage on corner kicks and countless opportunities in the second half, United found itself lamenting playoff elimination at home for the third consecutive year.

"You saw in the second half the team we are made of," midfielder Ben Olsen said. "There's no excuse not to have that determination and will the whole game. I don't know why. It seems like there are lapses on this team. . . . For us to have a first half like that, it's a little bit embarrassing."

The Fire, which did not clinch a playoff berth until the final day of the regular season, will face the New England Revolution or New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference final Thursday.

United, which ended the year with a six-game winless streak, seemed so determined to end its postseason rut and finally find a way to beat the Fire in the playoffs after five losses and a tie. It was boosted by the return of Moreno and MLS scoring champion Luciano Emilio, who had not started Game 1 because of ankle injuries, and by its return to RFK, where the club had lost only twice all year.

But by the midway mark of the opening half, things were not going the way United intended. The Fire was unshaken by United's persistence and not intimidated by the rowdy setting or the magnitude of the match.

In the 31st minute, it began to unravel. Calen Carr delivered a one-hop pass from the right side to the top of the penalty area, where Barrett got behind Bobby Boswell. After one touch, Barrett drilled a 12-yarder into the left side of the net.

Only two minutes passed before the Fire struck again. Carr found Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who nodded the ball into the box. Once again, United's defenders were slow to react and confusion took over in the box. Rolfe took advantage, scooting into space to lift a 10-yarder over Troy Perkins for his second goal of the series.

"It was just letting guys get away from us," Perkins said. "There were times in the first half [in Game 1] we weren't sharp and then the first 20 minutes of this game, the same thing: We just fell asleep."

A one-goal series deficit is troublesome. A two-goal hole is devastating. A three-goal setback is almost fatal.

United's play turned desperate, and by failing to score before halftime, its chances dimmed significantly. The second half brought more of the same: frantic play from United, patient resistance from the Fire. Emilio threatened in the 50th minute, but Matt Pickens made a superb reflex save.

Emilio left in the 66th minute, clearly not at full strength. "It hurt bad, very bad," he said of his left ankle.

But in the 69th minute, United came to life on, of all things, a long-range rocket from Simms. A defensive midfielder without much attacking menace, Simms waited for reserve Rod Dyachenko's pass and then slammed a 30-yard shot into the lower left corner.

The goal invigorated United and its supporters, who roared every time the club touched the ball in Chicago's end. Five minutes later, United struck again. Dyachenko's through ball found Gomez, who avoided an offside call and sneaked a 15-yard shot under Pickens with just enough velocity to roll into the far corner.

The match was tied, but the series was not. United needed one more to force overtime, and when Gomez's apparent goal was waved off and Dyachenko was red-carded for a serious foul, D.C. was finished. Two years ago, Chicago blasted United, 4-0, at RFK to win the first-round series, and last year, D.C. fell at home to New England in the conference final, 1-0.

"I thought for sure we were going to win the game," Coach Tom Soehn said. "We pushed as hard as we could and got two back, and I thought the third was coming. . . . I wish we would have done it earlier because I felt a little more time we would have gotten the result we needed."