United put streak on the line vs. TFC
D.C. UNITED v TORONTO FC
RFK MEMORIAL STADIUM, Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. ET (HDNet; RSN [Ont.])
Sept. 29, 2007 (WEEK 26) / MLS Game #170
After their midweek success in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana adventure, D.C. United put their 10-game league unbeaten streak on the line when they take on Toronto FC at RFK Stadium. United have claimed a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs, but there is still something to play for - they are just three points ahead of Chivas USA for the MLS Supporters' Shield, with the Western leaders holding a game in hand. Toronto FC finally put an end to their two-month plus scoring streak last time out, but they still have not won since July 4. Still, TFC are still alive in their bid for a playoff spot, though trailing the Chicago Fire by 11 points with five games left in their inaugural season.
REFEREE: Ramon Hernandez. SAR (bench): Craig Lowry; JAR (opposite): Michael Salyers; 4th: Shane Moody
MLS Career: 14 games; FC/gm: 30.5; Y/gm: 4.6; R: 4; pens: 2
Games involving United: P1 W0 L1 T0; FC/gm: 22.0; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 0; pens: 0
Games involving Toronto FC: first game
INJURY REPORT: D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture); GK Shawn Crowe (meniscus tear); PROBABLE: DF Bryan Namoff (quadriceps contusion) ... TORONTO FC - OUT: GK Greg Sutton (concussion); MF Ronnie O'Brien (knee); FW Danny Dichio (ankle); GK David Monsalve (shoulder); QUESTIONABLE: DF Marco Reda (groin); PROBABLE: FW Jeff Cunningham (hip flexor); DF Marvell Wynne (hamstring)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Bryan Namoff, Greg Vanney ... TOR: Andrew Boyens, Tyrone Marshall
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DC: Bobby Boswell, Brian Carroll, Josh Gros, Jaime Moreno ... TOR: Jim Brennan, Jeff Cunningham, Danny Dichio, Srdjan Djekanovic, Chris Pozniak, Carl Robinson
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (2 meetings): Toronto FC 0 wins, 1 goal ... D.C. United 1 win, 2 goals ... Draws 0
AT RFK STADIUM: first meeting
• This is the third meeting between the clubs, their first encounter ever at RFK Stadium. D.C. United won the two previous encounters between the clubs, both at BMO Field.
• Coaches record: Tom Soehn vs. TOR: P2 W2 L0 D0 ... Mo Johnston v DC: P5 W1 L3 D1
2007 (MLS):
5/19: TOR 1, DC 2 (Eskandarian 44 - Goldthwaite 52 og; Moreno 79 pen)
8/25: TOR 0, DC 1 (Fred 8)
• Jaime Moreno moved to the precipice of history while leading D.C. United to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory against Toronto FC in the first meeting, May 19 at BMO Field.
• Once again in front of a rabid, sellout crowd at Exhibition Place, TFC took the lead just before halftime when Alecko Eskandarian scored his first goal with his new club. And, of course, it came against his former club that he led to an MLS Cup, as he stroked home a shot from inside the area (44).
• But it was a little good fortune that pulled United level. Christian Gomez whipped in a freekick and Kevin Goldthwaite, trying to head clear, instead sent it past his own 'keeper for the 52nd-minute own goal.
• After the goal, United head coach Tom Soehn readjusted his team's tactics and his team set up camp in the TFC end. It paid off in the 79th minute when substitute Luciano Emilio was hauled down by Marvell Wynne in the area, and Moreno converted the penalty for his 108th career league goal.
• In the last meeting, D.C. United scored the game's lone goal early in the game and held on for victory on the shores of Lake Ontario on Aug. 25, as TFC surpassed the MLS record for minutes without a goal.
• Toronto had two corners and three shots in the first six minutes, but it wasn't enough for the streak-breaking score. At the six-minute mark, TFC officially set the league's new standard for lack of scoring. The BMO Field fans showed a sense of humor by counting down the seconds until the record was clinched, and then "celebrating" the event with streamers and applause.
• Two minutes later, United took the lead. A long ball down the left flank from Troy Perkins was flicked on by Nicholas Addlery, and Fred raced in alone behind the TFC defense. Rounding the corner at a tight angle at the left post, Fred poked a low shot that slipped past Kenny Stamatopoulos and into the back of the net.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Kenny Stamatopoulos - Adam Braz, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan, Todd Dunivant - Marvell Wynne, Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Chris Pozniak (Miguel Canizalez 81) - Collin Samuel, Danny Dichio. Substitutes Not Used: Nana Attakora-Gyan, Andrew Boyens, Andrea Lombardo, Joey Melo, David Monsalve, Marco Reda
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch - Brian Carroll, Clyde Simms, Fred - Christian Gomez (Domenic Mediate 84) - Rod Dyachenko (Jaime Moreno 46), Nicholas Addlery (Guy-Roland Kpene 61). Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Boswell, Jeff Carroll, Justin Moose, Jay Nolly
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United returned to action after nearly two weeks off and maintained their long undefeated run, now at 10 games after coming back for a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park. United remained atop the MLS overall table and the Eastern Conference with 50 points and four matches to play, three points ahead of Chivas USA in the race for the Supporters' Shield and four points ahead of the New England Revolution in the division.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire were still grimly hanging on to eighth place overall and the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs despite having played to draws in back-to-back games. D.C. United were returning to action after an 11-day layoff, having gone into the break riding a nine-game unbeaten streak.
• Since he's come into the league, Cuauhtemoc Blanco has been the instigator in all the Fire's attacks, and he once again created the opening goal in the 18th minute. He lofted a terrific pass from his own half over the top for Chad Barrett to run onto, and the striker held off a United defender before stroking a low shot past Troy Perkins inside the left post for his sixth goal on the campaign. For Blanco, it was his sixth assist in the 10 league games since his arrival.
• Just before halftime, Fire defender Wilman Conde was able to block a Luciano Emilio header on the line, keeping the league leading scorer at 19 goals on the year.
• But seven minutes before full-time, United pulled level. From well out on the right, Jaime Moreno hit a half-cross, half-shot that sailed toward the near post. Fire 'keeper Matt Pickens appeared to let it go -- and it sailed into the goal under the crossbar for the equalizer, Moreno's sixth goal of the season.
• United head coach Tom Soehn made three changes to the team that defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 at RFK Stadium on Sept. 12. Three players in all were suspended, including Ben Olsen and Christian Gomez, while Guy-Rolando Kpene went to the substitutes' bench. Coming back into the team were Greg Vanney, Domenic Mediate and Jaime Moreno, who was back from international duty with Bolivia.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-4-2): Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff (Clyde Simms 43), Bobby Boswell, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch - Domenic Mediate (Stephen deRoux 69), Brian Carroll (Nicholas Addlery 53), Devon McTavish, Joshua Gros - Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio. Substitutes Not Used: Rod Dyachenko, Jeff Carroll, Guy-Roland Kpene, Jay Nolly
• "We looked like a team that had time off. We came out flat. Obviously we had some new pieces in the lineup that haven't all played together so I think those signs showed, as well," Soehn said. "We addressed some things at halftime. I think in some respects some of it got better, but on the day it wasn't our normal effort. Again, we were resilient. We get a point on the road on a day that we were missing guys is pretty important."
TEAM NEWS
• The night before, Chivas USA's Ante Razov had moved to within touching distance of Jaime Moreno with career goals No. 108 and 109. But Moreno's goal six minutes from the end gave him 111 for his league career and provided the share of the points.
• "I stole the ball and I faked it a couple times to cross it and when I crossed it, it went straight into the goal. It was too bad for the 'keeper," Moreno said. "He thought it was going to go outside and it went it. It's one of those goals that don't look nice but at the end of the day we'll take it."
• Coming off the break, United weren't pleased with how they started the match - and it led to the Fire opening the scoring after just 18 minutes.
• "Especially on the road, the first 15 minutes of the game we have to set the tone for ourselves and we kind of let them dictate the way the game was going to go. We have to do a better job than that," Troy Perkins said. "That's been our success for the past nine games, but we just didn't do it today."
• Perkins saved the match with a series of stops down the stretch, and made one final stop in the dying moments to secure the draw.
• "It was a great save. His job is to make saves. He started out slow and I thought in the second half he came up big," Soehn said. "And I challenged him to do that. That's his job and he made a great save and we get a point on the road, which is important."
• It also gave Perkins and the rest of the United team a taste of the urgency to come with the start of the MLS Cup Playoffs. United have clinched their place and are a point away from guaranteeing home-field advantage in the conference semifinal series.
• "Yes, they need the points, so they are going to push, push everything forward that they can. We had problems keeping possession there at the end and obviously that could have cost us but we dealt with it well, Perkins said. "After coming off ten days, we were definitely a little rusty, a little lax. I think and we just have to come out with better attitudes and a little better mentality."
• On Wednesday, United got their Copa Sudamericana adventure off to a great start, surviving playing a man down for more than a half in holding on for a 2-1 victory against CD Guadalajara at RFK Stadium.
• Against the run of play, Ben Olsen put United in the lead in the 23rd minute when he pumped home a half-cleared ball. But then in the 44th minute, Marc Burch was sent off for a second bookable offense by Argentinean referee Hector Baldaffi.
• Yet United doubled the lead 10 minutes into the second half, when Clyde Simms pounded home the rebound of a Christian Gomez free kick that came back off the wall. Sergio Santana turned home a low cross from Xavier Baez to pull Chivas back to within one, but United held on to take a slim lead into next Tuesday's second leg at Estadio Jalisco.
• Here's Soehn's team: Troy Perkins, Bryan Namoff (Bobby Boswell 88), Devon McTavish, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch, Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez (Brian Carroll 73), Clyde Simms, Fred, Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno (Joshua Gros 56). Substitutes Not Used: Nicholas Addlery, Stephen deRoux, Guy-Roland Kpene, Jay Nolly
• "If I was them, it would be tied, but for us we have a one-goal lead. And that's important. We go out and expect to win our home games and now we have to do a good job of taking it to them in their place," Soehn said. "When we played them there last time, I thought we played them very even and I think we are a better team now, so we are going there to set the tone, we are not going to bunker. We are going play our game."
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC finally scored a goal, but couldn't put an end to their losing run, seeing the Columbus Crew come back with two second-half goals for a 2-1 win on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field. Toronto FC is now tied for 12th place in the MLS overall table, with the Los Angeles Galaxy, both teams 11 points behind the Chicago Fire in the chase for the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
LAST MATCH
• Toronto FC came into the game without a victory since July 4 and without a goal in more than 13-1/2 hours, though having ended a four-game losing streak last time out. The Columbus Crew were in real need of a win, two goals in stoppage time at Kansas City the weekend consigning them to a seventh consecutive game without a win.
• It didn't take long for the TFC fans to finally have something to celebrate. In just the second minute, Jim Brennan whipped in a low cross from the left, and it bounced around the Columbus area. Danny O'Rourke wasn't able to clear it far, and Miguel Canizalez latched onto the ball before sliding it back home. It put an end to the Toronto scoring drought at an MLS-record 824 minutes, the club's first goal since July 7.
• Once again, though, the Crew came storming back after the break. A cross from Frankie Hejduk on the right escaped TFC 'keeper Kenny Stamatopoulos as he came flying off his line, and sailed through to Eddie Gaven on the left. He settled and played a square ball to Jason Garey, who calmly controlled and passed the ball into the nearly empty net. It was the first goal of the season for Garey.
• Seven minutes from the end the Crew hit for the game-winner. Latching onto a loose bouncing ball near midfield, Jacob Thomas went racing down the right and into the penalty area, holding off one defender before hitting a low, angled shot that beat Stamatopoulos inside the far post.
• TFC head coach Mo Johnston made two changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake the previous weekend. Marvell Wynne was injured, so Miguel Canizalez came into the team on the left of midfield, while Jeff Cunningham returned to the lineup, replacing Andrea Lombardo in attack.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Kenny Stamatopoulos - Chris Pozniak, Andrew Boyens, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan - Miguel Canizalez, Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Todd Dunivant - Collin Samuel, Jeff Cunningham (Andrea Lombardo 57). Substitutes Not Used: Nana Attakora-Gyan, Srdjan Djekanovic, Gabe Gala, David Guzman, Tyler Hemming, Joey Melo
• "I felt today we were naïve. We got the goal, we should have been certain. You know we had two clear chances after that we should have taken them," Johnston said. "I came in at halftime and I said I'm worried about this game because it wasn't going our way. We didn't put our chances away and that was the difference."
TEAM NEWS
• The lack of finishing from the Reds is even more frustrating for the club considering that their attack has been successful at creating opportunities. TFC has outshot opponents 57-31 over the last four matches, including a 22-15 edge in shots on goal.
• "We should have been more ahead than we were at 1-nil. The easy chances we missed, we had hoped to be in at halftime maybe up 2- or 3-nil up. We didn't take our chances to come out as good as we were in the first half - I thought we were flat in the second," Carl Robinson said. "You could see it building - you could see it happening 10 minutes before they scored, you know unless we get a hold of the game they might nick one in and that's exactly what happened."
• Toronto's lone goal came from a somewhat improbable source. Canizalez started TFC's first two games, but had played just 100 minutes since April 14. Marvell Wynne's hamstring injury and Adam Braz's observance of Yom Kippur necessitated a move to the backline for Pozniak and Jim Brennan, and thus Canizalez was once again in the starting XI.
• "I'm so happy we finally scored," Canizalez said. "The team deserved it. We had a lot of bad luck in a couple of games and that goal was just amazing. It means I'm in good condition and hopefully the next game I can start again. I'm just happy to play and help the team out."
• For Jeff Cunningham, it was his first start since July 4, when he scored the last of his six goals on the campaign in TFC's last win, a 2-1 decision against Real Salt Lake.
• "Basically I need to get better, I feel disappointed by the chances that I got tonight and that cost us the game I think," he said. "The one-on-one chance I was rusty, not comfortable in front of the goal -- probably if I had a few more games, maybe (I) would have done better. But there's no excuses, man, I don't care -- you've got to do better with the breakaway."
• The loss kept Toronto 11 points behind the Chicago Fire for the eighth and final MLS playoff spot with five games remaining. Barring a miracle finish, Saturday's loss represented the end of TFC's playoff hopes.
• "Listen, they're playing for that jersey, each and every single one of them. I mean you're never out of it 'til you're out of it (playoffs) but it's very hard, obviously it's an uphill battle and now we've got to go to D.C. They're a very good team, and that one will be a hard battle," Johnston said.
