twice earning 2-1 wins -- once in the morning and another in the evening. The team will train Thursday morning and then attend the San Antonio Spurs game as a team Thursday evening in advance of Friday's game with Toronto FC (7 p.m. EST).
Morning scrimmage recap
In the morning session, United topped Chivas USA 2-1 on goals from the reigning League MVP Luciano Emilio and newcomer Franco Niell.
Emilio's goal came in the 38th minute, after Marc Burch collected the ball on the left side of midfield. The defender picked out Marcelo Gallardo with a well-placed pass, whereupon the midfielder then fed a streaking Luciano Emilio behind the defense. Emilio carried the ball nearly 30 yards and into Chivas' goal box, drawing the goalkeeper Sam Reynolds off his line before slotting a low shot past Reynolds into the far corner of the goal.
United's 1-0 advantage would stand until the 62nd minute when Chivas USA's Lawson Vaughn sent a lofted ball towards United's goal box. A miscommunication between goalkeeper Zach Wells and defender Bryan Namoff allowed Paulo Nagamura to sneak in, get a foot on the ball and flick it past Wells and into the back of the net to even the score.
D.C. took the lead for good seven minutes from the final whistle when second-half substitute Dan Stratford collected the ball after a cleared corner kick fell at his feet. The midfielder sent a long ball back into the box directly into the path of Santino Quaranta. Quaranta struck a shot towards goal that bounced several feet off the ground and into the path of Franco Niell. The sly forward quickly re-directed the ball with his head past Reynolds for the 2-1 lead.
Game summary
MLS Preseason Scrimmage - March 5, 2008 - 10:30 a.m. CT
Soccer International Complex - Schertz, Texas
Scoring Summary:
DCU - Luciano Emilio (Marcelo Gallardo, Marc Burch) 35
CHV - Paulo Nagamura (Lawson Vaughn) 62
DCU - Franco Niell (Santino Quaranta, Dan Stratford) 83
Lineups:
DCU:
Zach Wells; Bryan Namoff (Santino Quaranta 72), Gonzalo Peralta, Gonzalo Martinez, Marc Burch; Devon McTavish, Clyde Simms (Dan Stratford 60), Marcelo Gallardo (Rod Dyachenko 85), Fred (Domenic Mediate 72); Jaime Moreno (Franco Niell 72), Luciano Emilio.
CHV: (4-4-2):
Sam Reynolds; Alex Zotinca (Gerson Mayen 73), Claudio Suarez, Jim Curtin, Jonathan Bornstein; Luciano Fusco (Lawson Vaughn 45) Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura (Keith Savage 62), Raphaël Wicky (Chukwudi Chijindu 85); Ante Razov, Atiba Harris.
Misconduct summary:
CHV - Paulo Nagamura (caution) 34
DCU- Clyde Simms (caution) 51
DCU - Fred (ejection) 72
CHV- Atiba Harris (caution) 89
Referee: Terry Vaughn
Assistants: Patrick Pineda, Chris Mercado
Weather: Sunny, 70 F
Evening scrimmage recap
The evening's scoreline mirrored that from the morning, as Quavas Kirk and trialist Cezar Hermenegildo tallied for the Black-and-Red in the team's first game at the Texas Pro Soccer Festival.
Chivas USA was the first to score, when Jorge Flores collected the ball deep in United's box in the 13th minute. The midfielder controlled the bouncing ball, flicked it up and over a United defender and then slammed home a volley from less than eight yards that flew past a helpless Jose Carvallo and into the back of the net.
The advantage would not stand for very long, as United notched the equalizer just three minutes later. After a short corner was partially cleared by Chivas, Justin Moose corralled the ball deep in the right corner of the field. The midfielder sent a cross centrally, directly into the path of an onrushing Quavas Kirk who was able to put a head on the ball unchallenged. The ball was nearly cleared off the line by a Chivas USA defender, but he was too late, as the ball crossed over the goal line for a knotted score.
The final goal of the game came in the 27th minute on a nice combination from United's front three. The play began with some quick touches through D.C.'s midfield with the ball eventually finding the foot of Rod Dyachenko near midfield. Dyachenko turned towards Chivas' goal and played a pass to the feet of Franco Niell, who sent a quick first touch behind the defense and directly into the path of a sprinting Hermenegildo. The forward ran past his defender and in alone on goal. Chivas' goalkeeper approached, but Hermenegildo calmly slotted the ball to the 'keeper's right with his left foot, as the ball sailed into the back of the net.
Both teams would make a number of substitutions throughout the rest of the game and trade opportunities on goal, but the 2-1 score would prove to be the final.
Game summary
MLS Preseason Exhibition - March 5, 2008 - 8:30 p.m. CT
Byron Steel High School | Cibolo, Texas
Scoring summary:
CHV - Jorge Flores 13
DCU - Quavas Kirk (Justin Moose) 16
DCU - Cezar Hermenegildo (Franco Niell, Rod Dyachenko) 27
Lineups
DCU:
Jose Carvallo; Quavas Kirk (Galen Thompson 86), Domenic Mediate, Pat Carroll, Ryan Cordeiro; Justin Moose (David Blumer 86), Dan Stratford (Dane Murphy 76), Rod Dyachenko, Santino Quaranta (Josh Gardner 33); Franco Niell (Guy-Roland Kpene 59), Cezar Hermenegildo (Jamil Walker 67).
CHV:
Lance Parker; Gerson Mayen, Shavar Thomas, Bobby Burling Eric Ebert; Jorge Flores, Daniel Paladini, Kraig Chiles, Keith Savage (Chukwudi Chijindu 62); Justin Braun, Anthony Hamilton (Arnaldo Salazar 84).
Misconduct summary:
None.
Referee: Jair Manuffo
Assistants: Jason Cullum, Greg Boles
