United Rallies For First Win In Four Weeks

United 3, Toronto FC 2

D.C. United was heading down an eerily familiar and troubling path last night, one that threatened to inflict a fifth consecutive loss and perhaps jeopardize both a once-promising MLS season and Coach Tom Soehn's job.

In a span of two-plus minutes, however, United awakened with a fury and offered hope of a midseason revival.

Jaime Moreno provided the equalizer on a penalty kick and Luciano Emilio followed in the 72nd minute with his first goal in nearly two months as United came from behind to defeat Toronto FC, 3-2, before 18,647 at RFK Stadium.

"We are looking for something to go our way and nothing has been easy this year, not even today," said Soehn, whose last-place club (3-7) had not won since April 26. "The guys were resilient and I credit them for their fight and their belief."

It was not a carefree performance, by any means. United conceded an early goal, and after tying the match, allowed Toronto (4-3-2) to reclaim the lead seconds before halftime. The attack sputtered for stretches, the defense suffered more lapses, and in the final hectic minutes, Gonzalo Peralta's header deep in his end floated dangerously close to being an own goal.

Toronto also vigorously pleaded for a handball on a corner kick that dropped among a half-dozen players a few strides in front of United's net before being cleared. In the confusion, Toronto's Laurent Robert was red-carded for using abusive language, all but ending his club's chances of extending its unbeaten streak to seven.

"We came out of a ditch," said Emilio, the 2007 league MVP and scoring champion whose previous goal came in the home opener against Toronto, a personal drought of 653 minutes. "It was good we finally got a win. Everyone's morale is up right now."

And Soehn's job appears more secure. A year after guiding United to the most regular season points in MLS in his first season in charge, Soehn has endured second-guessing about his lineups and questions about his ability to motivate the players and integrate several newcomers.

On the sideline after being replaced in the 88th minute, "I was looking at Tommy and I was saying, 'Let's get out of here with a victory, just for this guy,' " said midfielder Santino Quaranta, who played a role on each of the late goals. "He's been through so much. At least he can get a good night's sleep tonight."

The evening did not start well. Three days after conceding an early goal by Danny Dichio in a 1-0 loss at Toronto, United fell behind after 13 minutes when Dichio beat Peralta to the six-yard box and nodded in Jim Brennan's left-side cross.

United pressed hard for an equalizer but was denied several times by goalkeeper Greg Sutton -- an encouraging sign, but still no goals.

In the 41st minute, however, United's work finally paid off. Devon McTavish flicked Moreno's corner kick across the six-yard box, where Peralta put it away with a lunging header from three yards away for his first MLS goal.