Old foes square off as D.C. visits Crew
MLSnet.com Staff
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MLS Career: 44 games; FC/gm: 33.4; Y/gm: 2.5; R: 10; pens: 10
Games involving Crew: P13 W2 L6 T5; FC/gm: 32.7; Y/gm: 1.5; R: 1; pens: 1
Games involving United: P5 W4 L0 T1; FC/gm: 35.2; Y/gm: 2.6; R: 1; pens: 1 INJURY REPORT: COLUMBUS CREW - OUT: MF Brandon Moss (L knee ACL reconstruction); DOUBTFUL: MF Jacob Thomas (R ankle sprain/avulsion fracture) ... D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture) SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Christian Gomez, Bryan Namoff
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CLB: Frankie Hejduk, Danny O'Rourke, Guillermo Barros Schelotto ... DC: Bobby Boswell, Brian Carroll, Josh Gros, Ben Olsen, Greg Vanney
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (41 meetings): Crew 14 wins (0 shootout), 60 goals ... United 20 wins (5 shootout), 65 goals ... Draws 7
AT COLUMBUS (17 meetings): Crew 11 wins (0 shootout), 33 goals ... United 6 wins (2 shootout), 20 goals ...Draws 4
• This is the second of three meetings between the clubs this season, the second of two at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. They conclude their season series against each other in the regular season finale, Oct. 20 at RFK Stadium.
• The Crew won 1-0 on April 28 in the first meeting this season, their first win in the series came on April 15, 2005. In the seven games in between, United won five with two draws.
• A year ago, D.C. United won the season series handily, taking the final three league encounters - and a meeting in the U.S. Open Cup - after a draw in Columbus.
• United have won twice in their last four trips to Columbus, after going nine games without a win in the Ohio capital. United won in a shootout on July 7, 1999, the Crew then winning seven of the next nine matches in Columbus (with two draws) until D.C. claimed a win on July 2, 2005.
• Columbus last won in D.C. on Oct. 19, 2003, an overtime victory. The Crew have managed to take single points just twice in their last league matches at RFK Stadium.
• Last year, the teams also met in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup, United claiming a 2-1 extra-time victory in a match played at the Maryland SoccerPlex (Moreno 22; Walker 93 - Marshall 18)
• Coaches record: Sigi Schmid v DC: P20 W10 L7 D3 ... Tom Soehn vs. CLB: P1 W0 L1 D0
2007 (MLS):
4/28: CLB 1, DC 0 (Hendrickson 28)
• The Crew came away with a 1-0 victory at Crew Stadium on April 28. The game's sole strike came in the 28th minute. Joseph Ngwenya took a pass on the left as Ezra Hendrickson steamed forward to get on the end of the return ball. Ngwenya laid the ball back and the St. Vincent & Grenadines international beat Troy Perkins with his shot, only to see it cleared off the line by defender Devon McTavish. The rebound eventually came back out to Hendrickson, and he made no mistake with his second chance.
• The match was suspended for 28 minutes at the 84-minute mark when thunderstorms rolled through the area, but in the 10 minutes after the delay (including four minutes of stoppage time), neither team really threatened.
• D.C., wearing maroon in honor of Virginia Tech University, lost for the third consecutive match to begin the season. It was the first time in league history the winners of the Supporters' Shield the previous season had lost their first three games to open the next.
• Here's Soehn's team (3-4-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish (Kasali Yinka Casal 74) - Fred, Brian Carroll (Justin Moose 46), Ben Olsen, Joshua Gros - Christian Gomez (Nicholas Addlery 68) - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno. Substitutes Not Used: Stephen deRoux, Facundo Erpen, Jay Nolly, John Wilson
• Here's Schmid's team (4-2-3-1): Andy Gruenebaum - Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Ezra Hendrickson, Rusty Pierce - Ned Grabavoy, Danny O'Rourke - Joseph Ngwenya, Eddie Gaven, Ricardo Virtuoso (Stefani Miglioranzi 61) - Kei Kamara (Jason Garey 69). Substitutes Not Used: Brad Evans, Brandon Moss, Duncan Oughton, Robbie Rogers, Kenny Schoeni COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew twice held leads and even went a man up, but eventually succumbed 3-2 to FC Dallas last Saturday at Pizza Hut Park. The Crew now have 26 points from 20 matches, fifth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Kansas City Wizards, but still hanging on to eighth place overall in the MLS standings and the final available playoff spot.
LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas came into the game riding a five-game unbeaten streak in league play, having also moved onto the U.S. Open Cup semifinals at midweek, while the Columbus Crew had lost just once over their previous nine games in league play.
• The Crew dominated from the outset, and in the midst of a long string of corner kicks took a sixth-minute lead. Guillermo Barros Schelotto swung in the service from the right and Marcos Gonzalez headed home at the near post for his first goal with the Crew.
• But the home side fought their way back into the game and pulled level on the hour mark. Dominic Oduro pulled back a cross from the left corner, and after it hit off a defender, Arturo Alvarez quickly controlled it and slapped a shot inside the right-hand post for his fifth goal for the club in the last six games in all competitions.
• Columbus regained the lead in the 74th minute. As Frankie Hejduk tried to turn the corner on the right side of the area, he was hauled down by Chris Gbandi and a penalty kick awarded. Andy Herron drove the spot kick high into the center of the goal for his first goal since May 26.
• Yet just six minutes later the Hoops again pulled level. Marcelo Saragosa swung in a neat cross from the left corner of the area and Carlos Ruiz rose up to power home a trademark header, his second goal in three league games after going 15 contests in MLS play without a goal.
• But literally from the ensuing kickoff, Saragosa was sent off as he hit Crew midfielder Ned Grabavoy with an elbow, referee Jorge Gonzalez showing the Brazilian a straight red card.
• Still, it was FC Dallas that hit for the game-winner. Dax McCarty put in a corner kick from the right and Clarence Goodson slipped in unmarked to snap home a header at the near post for his first goal on the campaign and the dramatic winner.
• Crew head coach Sigi Schmid kept his team the same for the third successive match, repeating the group he ran out in the scoreless draw against Chicago a week earlier.
• Here's Schmid's team (4-2-3-1): Will Hesmer - Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Stefani Miglioranzi - Danny O'Rourke, Danny Szetela - Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Ned Grabavoy, Eddie Gaven (Robbie Rogers 46) - Alejandro Moreno (Andy Herron 63). Substitutes Not Used: Jason Garey, Andy Gruenebaum, Ezra Hendrickson, Duncan Oughton, Rusty Pierce
• "I thought we played well early on in each half," Schmid said. "After that, I thought we made a little bit of a mess of it. Credit Dallas because they put a lot more energy into the game and their defense pushed up and kept things compact for them. We didn't do a good job holding onto the ball and had too many guys have off games."
TEAM NEWS
• After the bright start, Schmid felt his team was forced on the back foot and that his team was fortunate to still be ahead at halftime, though the lead didn't last long after the break.
• "We just didn't possess the ball enough," Schmid said. "I thought we were close to getting a couple of breakaways but overall, we just didn't do a good enough job of holding the ball and put ourselves under a great deal of pressure."
• Said Frankie Hejduk: "We just let our guard down a bit and [FC Dallas] came at us, even with a man down. They didn't stop attacking and drop off -- they kept coming at us. They had a great game plan and they came out and executed it. Until the last 20 minutes, we did what we needed to do, but they scored on two crosses and two set pieces and I thought that was the difference."
• Even after FC Dallas pulled level through Ruiz's goal, the Crew felt like they could get the game-winner in the final 10 minutes.
• "When (Marcelo) Saragosa got the red card, it was almost like, OK we've got it," Schmid said. "I almost wish he hadn't have gotten that card. I think we would have been better off because even when he was in there, we were still close to breaking through."
• Even though FC Dallas came into the game with a five-game unbeaten streak, the Crew felt they could come away with a result to keep pace in a tightly-packed Eastern Conference.
• "Obviously, the effort was there. On two different occasions, we were leading the game and felt like we were going to get out of here with at least a point," said Alejandro Moreno. "In the end, they take advantage of a set piece and in some ways, it's our responsibility to make sure that everyone is marked up on set pieces at the end of a game. We didn't do that and we leave here without a point."
• After allowing 17 goals over a seven-match run, the Crew had really tightened up their defense, recording five shutouts in their last six games. But they couldn't stop FC Dallas.
• "It's disappointing," Andy Herron said. "They're a man down and every time we put the ball down, we got better positioning but lack of possession was killing us. They had a great effort with a man down and we couldn't keep the lead. We can't do anything but keep our heads up and keep working." D.C. UNITED
D.C. United won for the second time in five days, getting the game's lone goal as they defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in David Beckham's MLS debut on Aug. 9 at RFK Stadium. United now have 30 points from 18 games, tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with the New York Red Bulls, both teams six points behind the New England Revolution but just a point ahead of the Kansas City Wizards. LAST MATCH
• The Galaxy were on the second game of a three-game tour of the Eastern Conference in league play, after playing to a scoreless draw at Toronto FC in their first MLS game in more than a month, while D.C. United had put an end to a three-game winless run the weekend before with a comprehensive 3-0 win against conference leaders New England. It was also the first of two meetings in a week between the clubs; they will battle next Wednesday in a SuperLiga semifinal at The Home Depot Center.
• The sellout crowd of 46,683 on hand at RFK Stadium was given something to cheer about early, as Luciano Emilio scored the game's only goal in the 27th minute. Taking a short pass from Marc Burch well outside the penalty area, he strode forward and hammered a rising blast that clipped off goalkeeper Joe Cannon's hands and into the back of the net for his league-leading 13th goal on the campaign.
• The Galaxy's comeback efforts were dealt a blow in the 67th minute when Kyle Martino was sent off with a straight red card from referee Jair Marrufo for a heavy tackle on United playmaker Fred.
• The large crowd got what many also came to see in the 72nd minute, when Beckham came on the field for his Major League Soccer debut, replacing Quavas Kirk.
• The RFK faithful were then almost treated to another bit of history with 10 minutes left, when Jaime Moreno found himself all alone in front of goal. But Cannon made a terrific save to deflect his shot just wide, stopping his bid for his 109th career league goal, which would make him the all-time leader.
• United head coach Tom Soehm made one change to the team that defeated the New England Revolution 3-0 the Sunday before. Fred came into the playmaking midfield role, replacing Rod Dyachenko
• Here Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff (Greg Vanney 89), Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch - Ben Olsen (Brian Carroll 70), Clyde Simms, Joshua Gros - Fred - Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Jaime Moreno 46). Substitutes Not Used: Nicholas Addlery, Rod Dyachenko, Domenic Mediate, Jay Nolly
• "It was a difficult situation, there was a lot of hype built around this one. As much as we tried to avoid the distractions for the guys there was a still a lot going on that normally doesn't happen. It's a game where you try to keep them focused on what the real goal is which is to get three points," Soehn said. "And at the end of the day I think we did a good job of holding down the fort and making it difficult for them. We were pretty opportunistic. The goal Luciano scored was a big reason we brought him here; to do things like he did today."
TEAM NEWS
• Despite the atmosphere surrouding the appearance by Beckham, Soehn had hoped there would be another reason for the large crowd to go away happy - beyond just the United victory.
• "I would have loved to see Jaime celebrate breaking the goal record. I know he tried real hard and (Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon) tried real hard to stop him, but that would have made it even more special for the fans where someone with Jaime's experience could come out with a goal that important," Soehn said.
• Christian Gomez was again kept out of the lineup, and Fred given the role of pulling the strings behind the front two.
• "He came from Australia and he's had a busy schedule so he hasn't had many touches in the last five days. It's difficult for him to come in being away from the game a little bit. But we need to give him the time to get focused mentally because it's a long season; he's gotten quite used to playing on the outside and I thought actually when we moved him to the outside he was doing a little bit better," Soehn said. "We're still going to continue to push him into that spot once in a while when we need him and I know he'll do a good job there."
• After some struggles and personnel changes, it was a second consecutive clean sheet for the United back four. "We're getting comfortable with each other. We're still making mistakes -- luckily they're not capitalizing on it -- but it's just better all around," said Devon McTavish. "It starts up at the top, everyone's [working] harder in the midfield, and it just bleeds down to us. We're getting there."
• After scoring in the first two games of the season, Emilio went six league games without finding the back of the net. Since, he's scored 11 goals in 10 league games, including three in the last two.
• "At the beginning of the match, the coaching staff told us that we needed to shoot from anywhere on the field -- if we had an opportunity to shoot on goal, to do so, and that's what I did on that particular play," said Emilio.
• On Wednesday, United saw their SuperLiga bid come to an end through some David Beckham magic, falling 2-0 to the LA Galaxy in the semifinal at The Home Depot Center. After having all of the early play, United conceded a free kick some 24 yards straight out from goal, and Beckham whipped his effort over the left side of the wall inside the post to give the Galaxy the lead (27). Then two minutes after the halftime interval, Beckham slid an inch-perfect pass inside a defender for Landon Donovan to run onto, and the U.S. international finishing his breakaway with aplomb to double the lead, and eventually send the Galaxy into the final against Mexico's Pachuca.
• "It's a major disappointment when we had a chance to play at home in front of our crowd. But we have to get over it, move on and get on with league," Soehn said. "... The free kick I thought Troy ... has got to count on his wall a little bit better. He has got to take care of his side of the goal. But it was a great strike."
• Here's Soehn's team: Troy Perkins, Bobby Boswell (Guy-Roland Kpene 66), Devon McTavish, Bryan Namoff, Greg Vanney (Christian Gomez 46), Fred (Justin Moose 86), Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen, Joshua Gros, Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio. Substitutes Not Used: Rod Dyachenko, Domenic Mediate, Jay Nolly, Clyde Simms
• "When you evaluate guys' performances especially in big games, or any games for that matter, you go down the line and look at how many guys had good games. You could probably count on one hand the guys who had good games for us today," Soehn said. "Especially in big games like this, you can't have that because the teams are too even."
COLUMBUS CREW v D.C. UNITED
COLUMBUS CREW STADIUM, Columbus, Ohio
7:30 p.m. ET (HDNet; ClbSN; CN8)
Aug. 18, 2007 (WEEK 20) / MLS Game #126
MLS Career: 44 games; FC/gm: 33.4; Y/gm: 2.5; R: 10; pens: 10
Games involving Crew: P13 W2 L6 T5; FC/gm: 32.7; Y/gm: 1.5; R: 1; pens: 1
Games involving United: P5 W4 L0 T1; FC/gm: 35.2; Y/gm: 2.6; R: 1; pens: 1 INJURY REPORT: COLUMBUS CREW - OUT: MF Brandon Moss (L knee ACL reconstruction); DOUBTFUL: MF Jacob Thomas (R ankle sprain/avulsion fracture) ... D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture) SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Christian Gomez, Bryan Namoff
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CLB: Frankie Hejduk, Danny O'Rourke, Guillermo Barros Schelotto ... DC: Bobby Boswell, Brian Carroll, Josh Gros, Ben Olsen, Greg Vanney
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (41 meetings): Crew 14 wins (0 shootout), 60 goals ... United 20 wins (5 shootout), 65 goals ... Draws 7
AT COLUMBUS (17 meetings): Crew 11 wins (0 shootout), 33 goals ... United 6 wins (2 shootout), 20 goals ...Draws 4
• This is the second of three meetings between the clubs this season, the second of two at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. They conclude their season series against each other in the regular season finale, Oct. 20 at RFK Stadium.
• The Crew won 1-0 on April 28 in the first meeting this season, their first win in the series came on April 15, 2005. In the seven games in between, United won five with two draws.
• A year ago, D.C. United won the season series handily, taking the final three league encounters - and a meeting in the U.S. Open Cup - after a draw in Columbus.
• United have won twice in their last four trips to Columbus, after going nine games without a win in the Ohio capital. United won in a shootout on July 7, 1999, the Crew then winning seven of the next nine matches in Columbus (with two draws) until D.C. claimed a win on July 2, 2005.
• Columbus last won in D.C. on Oct. 19, 2003, an overtime victory. The Crew have managed to take single points just twice in their last league matches at RFK Stadium.
• Last year, the teams also met in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup, United claiming a 2-1 extra-time victory in a match played at the Maryland SoccerPlex (Moreno 22; Walker 93 - Marshall 18)
• Coaches record: Sigi Schmid v DC: P20 W10 L7 D3 ... Tom Soehn vs. CLB: P1 W0 L1 D0
2007 (MLS):
4/28: CLB 1, DC 0 (Hendrickson 28)
• The Crew came away with a 1-0 victory at Crew Stadium on April 28. The game's sole strike came in the 28th minute. Joseph Ngwenya took a pass on the left as Ezra Hendrickson steamed forward to get on the end of the return ball. Ngwenya laid the ball back and the St. Vincent & Grenadines international beat Troy Perkins with his shot, only to see it cleared off the line by defender Devon McTavish. The rebound eventually came back out to Hendrickson, and he made no mistake with his second chance.
• The match was suspended for 28 minutes at the 84-minute mark when thunderstorms rolled through the area, but in the 10 minutes after the delay (including four minutes of stoppage time), neither team really threatened.
• D.C., wearing maroon in honor of Virginia Tech University, lost for the third consecutive match to begin the season. It was the first time in league history the winners of the Supporters' Shield the previous season had lost their first three games to open the next.
• Here's Soehn's team (3-4-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish (Kasali Yinka Casal 74) - Fred, Brian Carroll (Justin Moose 46), Ben Olsen, Joshua Gros - Christian Gomez (Nicholas Addlery 68) - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno. Substitutes Not Used: Stephen deRoux, Facundo Erpen, Jay Nolly, John Wilson
• Here's Schmid's team (4-2-3-1): Andy Gruenebaum - Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Ezra Hendrickson, Rusty Pierce - Ned Grabavoy, Danny O'Rourke - Joseph Ngwenya, Eddie Gaven, Ricardo Virtuoso (Stefani Miglioranzi 61) - Kei Kamara (Jason Garey 69). Substitutes Not Used: Brad Evans, Brandon Moss, Duncan Oughton, Robbie Rogers, Kenny Schoeni COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew twice held leads and even went a man up, but eventually succumbed 3-2 to FC Dallas last Saturday at Pizza Hut Park. The Crew now have 26 points from 20 matches, fifth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Kansas City Wizards, but still hanging on to eighth place overall in the MLS standings and the final available playoff spot.
LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas came into the game riding a five-game unbeaten streak in league play, having also moved onto the U.S. Open Cup semifinals at midweek, while the Columbus Crew had lost just once over their previous nine games in league play.
• The Crew dominated from the outset, and in the midst of a long string of corner kicks took a sixth-minute lead. Guillermo Barros Schelotto swung in the service from the right and Marcos Gonzalez headed home at the near post for his first goal with the Crew.
• But the home side fought their way back into the game and pulled level on the hour mark. Dominic Oduro pulled back a cross from the left corner, and after it hit off a defender, Arturo Alvarez quickly controlled it and slapped a shot inside the right-hand post for his fifth goal for the club in the last six games in all competitions.
• Columbus regained the lead in the 74th minute. As Frankie Hejduk tried to turn the corner on the right side of the area, he was hauled down by Chris Gbandi and a penalty kick awarded. Andy Herron drove the spot kick high into the center of the goal for his first goal since May 26.
• Yet just six minutes later the Hoops again pulled level. Marcelo Saragosa swung in a neat cross from the left corner of the area and Carlos Ruiz rose up to power home a trademark header, his second goal in three league games after going 15 contests in MLS play without a goal.
• But literally from the ensuing kickoff, Saragosa was sent off as he hit Crew midfielder Ned Grabavoy with an elbow, referee Jorge Gonzalez showing the Brazilian a straight red card.
• Still, it was FC Dallas that hit for the game-winner. Dax McCarty put in a corner kick from the right and Clarence Goodson slipped in unmarked to snap home a header at the near post for his first goal on the campaign and the dramatic winner.
• Crew head coach Sigi Schmid kept his team the same for the third successive match, repeating the group he ran out in the scoreless draw against Chicago a week earlier.
• Here's Schmid's team (4-2-3-1): Will Hesmer - Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Stefani Miglioranzi - Danny O'Rourke, Danny Szetela - Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Ned Grabavoy, Eddie Gaven (Robbie Rogers 46) - Alejandro Moreno (Andy Herron 63). Substitutes Not Used: Jason Garey, Andy Gruenebaum, Ezra Hendrickson, Duncan Oughton, Rusty Pierce
• "I thought we played well early on in each half," Schmid said. "After that, I thought we made a little bit of a mess of it. Credit Dallas because they put a lot more energy into the game and their defense pushed up and kept things compact for them. We didn't do a good job holding onto the ball and had too many guys have off games."
TEAM NEWS
• After the bright start, Schmid felt his team was forced on the back foot and that his team was fortunate to still be ahead at halftime, though the lead didn't last long after the break.
• "We just didn't possess the ball enough," Schmid said. "I thought we were close to getting a couple of breakaways but overall, we just didn't do a good enough job of holding the ball and put ourselves under a great deal of pressure."
• Said Frankie Hejduk: "We just let our guard down a bit and [FC Dallas] came at us, even with a man down. They didn't stop attacking and drop off -- they kept coming at us. They had a great game plan and they came out and executed it. Until the last 20 minutes, we did what we needed to do, but they scored on two crosses and two set pieces and I thought that was the difference."
• Even after FC Dallas pulled level through Ruiz's goal, the Crew felt like they could get the game-winner in the final 10 minutes.
• "When (Marcelo) Saragosa got the red card, it was almost like, OK we've got it," Schmid said. "I almost wish he hadn't have gotten that card. I think we would have been better off because even when he was in there, we were still close to breaking through."
• Even though FC Dallas came into the game with a five-game unbeaten streak, the Crew felt they could come away with a result to keep pace in a tightly-packed Eastern Conference.
• "Obviously, the effort was there. On two different occasions, we were leading the game and felt like we were going to get out of here with at least a point," said Alejandro Moreno. "In the end, they take advantage of a set piece and in some ways, it's our responsibility to make sure that everyone is marked up on set pieces at the end of a game. We didn't do that and we leave here without a point."
• After allowing 17 goals over a seven-match run, the Crew had really tightened up their defense, recording five shutouts in their last six games. But they couldn't stop FC Dallas.
• "It's disappointing," Andy Herron said. "They're a man down and every time we put the ball down, we got better positioning but lack of possession was killing us. They had a great effort with a man down and we couldn't keep the lead. We can't do anything but keep our heads up and keep working." D.C. UNITED
D.C. United won for the second time in five days, getting the game's lone goal as they defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in David Beckham's MLS debut on Aug. 9 at RFK Stadium. United now have 30 points from 18 games, tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with the New York Red Bulls, both teams six points behind the New England Revolution but just a point ahead of the Kansas City Wizards. LAST MATCH
• The Galaxy were on the second game of a three-game tour of the Eastern Conference in league play, after playing to a scoreless draw at Toronto FC in their first MLS game in more than a month, while D.C. United had put an end to a three-game winless run the weekend before with a comprehensive 3-0 win against conference leaders New England. It was also the first of two meetings in a week between the clubs; they will battle next Wednesday in a SuperLiga semifinal at The Home Depot Center.
• The sellout crowd of 46,683 on hand at RFK Stadium was given something to cheer about early, as Luciano Emilio scored the game's only goal in the 27th minute. Taking a short pass from Marc Burch well outside the penalty area, he strode forward and hammered a rising blast that clipped off goalkeeper Joe Cannon's hands and into the back of the net for his league-leading 13th goal on the campaign.
• The Galaxy's comeback efforts were dealt a blow in the 67th minute when Kyle Martino was sent off with a straight red card from referee Jair Marrufo for a heavy tackle on United playmaker Fred.
• The large crowd got what many also came to see in the 72nd minute, when Beckham came on the field for his Major League Soccer debut, replacing Quavas Kirk.
• The RFK faithful were then almost treated to another bit of history with 10 minutes left, when Jaime Moreno found himself all alone in front of goal. But Cannon made a terrific save to deflect his shot just wide, stopping his bid for his 109th career league goal, which would make him the all-time leader.
• United head coach Tom Soehm made one change to the team that defeated the New England Revolution 3-0 the Sunday before. Fred came into the playmaking midfield role, replacing Rod Dyachenko
• Here Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff (Greg Vanney 89), Bobby Boswell, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch - Ben Olsen (Brian Carroll 70), Clyde Simms, Joshua Gros - Fred - Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Jaime Moreno 46). Substitutes Not Used: Nicholas Addlery, Rod Dyachenko, Domenic Mediate, Jay Nolly
• "It was a difficult situation, there was a lot of hype built around this one. As much as we tried to avoid the distractions for the guys there was a still a lot going on that normally doesn't happen. It's a game where you try to keep them focused on what the real goal is which is to get three points," Soehn said. "And at the end of the day I think we did a good job of holding down the fort and making it difficult for them. We were pretty opportunistic. The goal Luciano scored was a big reason we brought him here; to do things like he did today."
TEAM NEWS
• Despite the atmosphere surrouding the appearance by Beckham, Soehn had hoped there would be another reason for the large crowd to go away happy - beyond just the United victory.
• "I would have loved to see Jaime celebrate breaking the goal record. I know he tried real hard and (Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon) tried real hard to stop him, but that would have made it even more special for the fans where someone with Jaime's experience could come out with a goal that important," Soehn said.
• Christian Gomez was again kept out of the lineup, and Fred given the role of pulling the strings behind the front two.
• "He came from Australia and he's had a busy schedule so he hasn't had many touches in the last five days. It's difficult for him to come in being away from the game a little bit. But we need to give him the time to get focused mentally because it's a long season; he's gotten quite used to playing on the outside and I thought actually when we moved him to the outside he was doing a little bit better," Soehn said. "We're still going to continue to push him into that spot once in a while when we need him and I know he'll do a good job there."
• After some struggles and personnel changes, it was a second consecutive clean sheet for the United back four. "We're getting comfortable with each other. We're still making mistakes -- luckily they're not capitalizing on it -- but it's just better all around," said Devon McTavish. "It starts up at the top, everyone's [working] harder in the midfield, and it just bleeds down to us. We're getting there."
• After scoring in the first two games of the season, Emilio went six league games without finding the back of the net. Since, he's scored 11 goals in 10 league games, including three in the last two.
• "At the beginning of the match, the coaching staff told us that we needed to shoot from anywhere on the field -- if we had an opportunity to shoot on goal, to do so, and that's what I did on that particular play," said Emilio.
• On Wednesday, United saw their SuperLiga bid come to an end through some David Beckham magic, falling 2-0 to the LA Galaxy in the semifinal at The Home Depot Center. After having all of the early play, United conceded a free kick some 24 yards straight out from goal, and Beckham whipped his effort over the left side of the wall inside the post to give the Galaxy the lead (27). Then two minutes after the halftime interval, Beckham slid an inch-perfect pass inside a defender for Landon Donovan to run onto, and the U.S. international finishing his breakaway with aplomb to double the lead, and eventually send the Galaxy into the final against Mexico's Pachuca.
• "It's a major disappointment when we had a chance to play at home in front of our crowd. But we have to get over it, move on and get on with league," Soehn said. "... The free kick I thought Troy ... has got to count on his wall a little bit better. He has got to take care of his side of the goal. But it was a great strike."
• Here's Soehn's team: Troy Perkins, Bobby Boswell (Guy-Roland Kpene 66), Devon McTavish, Bryan Namoff, Greg Vanney (Christian Gomez 46), Fred (Justin Moose 86), Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen, Joshua Gros, Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio. Substitutes Not Used: Rod Dyachenko, Domenic Mediate, Jay Nolly, Clyde Simms
• "When you evaluate guys' performances especially in big games, or any games for that matter, you go down the line and look at how many guys had good games. You could probably count on one hand the guys who had good games for us today," Soehn said. "Especially in big games like this, you can't have that because the teams are too even."
