United Gives Up Lead But Holds On for Tie

United 2, Earthquakes 2

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 25 - D.C. United had a two-goal lead before the sun began to dip behind the mountains, the gorgeous backdrop for Saturday night's MLS match against the dreary San Jose Earthquakes.

If things continued as well as they started - and there was no reason to believe they wouldn't against a team that began the game without its second-leading scorer and lost its top threat late in the first half - United would head home with a share of first place in MLS's snuggly packed Eastern Conference.

But as daylight faded, so did United.

Christian Gómez's two goals before halftime went to waste as United settled for a 2-2 tie before 9,022 at Buck Shaw Stadium - its sixth deadlock on the road and 10th overall to tie the club record with 11 matches remaining.

Ryan Johnson and Cornell Glen scored for the Earthquakes (3-10-5) to leave D.C. (6-3-10) in third place, two points behind Columbus and one behind Chicago.

"We should have put them away," United Coach Tom Soehn said. "We came out [after intermission] and probably played one of the worst halves I've seen - mental errors, tons of it. We just didn't have it, and that's not a sign of a team that wants to become better."

The primary culprit was a midfield that, after playing so crisply for 30 minutes, began surrendering the ball and conceding space. San Jose gained traction late in the first half, cut the deficit on Johnson's one-timer and dominated United after the break. Glen's penalty kick in the 62nd minute tied it after United rookie Rodney Wallace inexplicably slapped a high cross deep in the box.

"In the second half, we were just lost," forward Chris Pontius said. "We couldn't find possession, we couldn't do much at all. We were scrambling."

Said forward Jaime Moreno: "After 2-0, I think we relaxed too much. You feel too confident, you give one goal that shouldn't have happened and they got pumped and came right at us. We didn't handle it well."

United was again without Santino Quaranta, who is with the U.S. national team at the Gold Cup. Clyde Simms and Thabiso Khumalo underwent hernia and wrist surgery, respectively, and recently signed midfielder Ely Allen has yet to join the team.

Central defender Dejan Jakovic returned to the lineup after serving Canadian duty and was flanked by Marc Burch and Bryan Namoff. Andrew Jacobson replaced Simms, pairing with Ben Olsen in defensive midfield, and Wallace and Fred were on the wings.

Pontius and Luciano Emilio started up front, leaving Moreno as the top attacking option on the bench. Danny Szetela, cleared to make his debut after transferring from Brescia in Italy, was also in reserve.