United Suffers Setback Against Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake 2, United 1

SANDY, Utah, April 11 -- D.C. United performed well enough in its first three MLS matches to earn valuable points and begin to feel good about itself after last year's dreary campaign. But the club also suffered enough baffling spells and debilitating setbacks to remain unsatisfied with the course of the season.

United showed promising signs again Saturday, going ahead for the fourth straight game, but by halftime the lead was gone, and when Javier Morales scored in the 80th minute, D.C. was headed for a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake before an announced crowd of 11,793 at rainy Rio Tinto Stadium.

After Luciano Emilio scored for the third consecutive match, Jamison Olave tied it two minutes later on a deflected header that was mishandled by goalkeeper Louis Crayton. Morales, an Argentine playmaker, then capped an elegant exchange to inflict United (1-1-2) with its first loss.

United surrendered a lead for the third time, but unlike the other two instances when it came away with a tie, the club couldn't withstand the pressure and lost on the road to Real (2-1) for the fourth straight year.

"When we score the first goal, we have to keep playing the same and not have those bad moments," Emilio said. "We have to stay stronger defensively and keep our confidence."

United Coach Tom Soehn was most disappointed in allowing a goal so quickly after Emilio's third strike of the year, saying, "There are crucial times in a game that you have to shore things up and that is one of the times."

In a week when United's prospects for a new stadium dimmed and MLS Commissioner Don Garber raised the possibility of the team relocating, the D.C. players and coaches got their first look at Real's 20,000-seat complex 10 miles south of downtown Salt Lake City with superb sightlines, an immaculate field and a snowcapped-mountain backdrop.

The new venue is a significant upgrade over Real's previous home at the University of Utah, where the artificial turf was as hard as concrete. Though the improved surface eliminated the bounces that had tormented it for years, United lacked precision within 30 yards early Saturday.

Nonetheless, United seized the lead in the 38th minute. Rookie Chris Pontius led Fred into the right side of the penalty area. The Brazilian slipped the ball back to Pontius, who passed an opportunity to shoot and instead curled a cross to Emilio for a downward header from seven yards.

"We had players in the box, so I figured we would get to it first," said Pontius, a first-round pick who has played every minute this season.

The lead didn't last long. Trapped in the left corner, Robbie Findley slid the ball back along the sideline to Will Johnson, who whipped a well-placed cross to the on-rushing Olave, a muscular, 6-foot-3 defender, for a powerful header from seven yards that seemed to deflect off his marker, United's Marc Burch.

Though he leaned to his left on the initial shot, Crayton remained in prime position for a save at chest level. But in trying to push out the ball with two hands, he directed it into the near corner.