Quaranta's Work in the Box Salvages Tie for United

United 2, FC Dallas 2

FRISCO, Tex., Sept. 5 -- D.C. United midfielder Santino Quaranta sprinted toward the goal with D.C. trailing FC Dallas in the second half on Saturday night, and with no defenders in front of him, planted his left foot to shoot.

But as Quaranta brought his right foot up to strike the ball from inside six yards, he instead tumbled to the ground, and television replays appeared to show him trip and tumble onto the field untouched.

The moment couldn't have been more fortunate -- especially if it indeed was as innocent as it appeared.

Referee Ricardo Salazar, trailing well behind the play, thought Quaranta had been tripped by Dallas defender Daniel Torres and whistled for a penalty, also showing Torres a red card. And veteran forward Jaime Moreno stepped up to bury the ensuing penalty kick, salvaging a 2-2 tie for United and giving them a point on the road.

After the game, Quaranta maintained he had been fouled -- though a sly smile left that conclusion up in the air.

"Nah, he hit me, man," Quaranta said. "I should have scored, I was just waiting for him to hit me. You know [Moreno] is going to score the penalty so, I thought it was a penalty. . . . He was behind me, he wasn't in front of me, so it was a penalty, right? I mean that's the obvious rule here, right? If he's behind me and I'm in front of him and he touches me, I'm going down."

Whether he was or wasn't touched, Quaranta's earned penalty help provide at least a bit of momentum for United, which now enters a five-game homestand in league play.

The result provided some positives -- the team battled back from two deficits -- and also some negatives -- some poor decisions in the back and an inability to put a team away despite a man advantage for 36 minutes.

After D.C. struggled in its 3-5-2 formation in Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup final, United Coach Tom Soehn opted for a four-man back line -- but the formation shift was just a portion of a vast lineup shake up.

Defensive center midfielder Clyde Simms moved into the back four, and veterans Moreno, Luciano Emilio and Christian Gómez all were on the bench.

Rookie Chris Pontius was paired with Quaranta at forward, giving D.C. some much-needed speed up top, and Devon McTavish slid into the right midfield spot while rookie Rodney Wallace stepped into Simms's normal role in the central midfield.

Despite the changes, however, United's defense was still shaky at times. Defender Julius James, who was unavailable for the Open Cup final because he played in the tournament for Houston, had been solid for United since joining the team, but on Saturday played a part in both Dallas goals.