It took five games and a visit from the team D.C. United has never lost to, but they finally won for the first time in 2007, getting second-half goals from Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno for a 2-1 victory against Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon at RFK Stadium.
Gomez knocked home a cross after a neat flick from Guy-Roland Kpene early in the second half, then Moreno scored from the penalty spot for his 107th career league goal to give United all they needed. Maykel Galindo made for a tense final quarter-hour with the first-ever goal scored by Chivas in Washington, but United held on.
With Fred sidelined by a groin strain sustained against New England on Thursday, second-year midfielder Justin Moose got his second start of the year against Chivas USA, and immediately took up a wide station on the right, giving United a different look than typically shown with the Brazilian.
Despite finding himself alone in a crowd of white jerseys, Gomez used his guile to earn a dangerous free kick eight minutes in, and used the set piece to serve up a teasing cross that forced Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan to sacrifice his body to punch clear in heavy traffic.
Troy Perkins came off his line aggressively to deny John Cunliffe when the Englishman raced onto a defense-splitting through ball in the 10th minute, cutting down the angle well but receiving a well-hit ball to the face for his troubles. The United goalkeeper had to recover quickly as Ante Razov hit an acrobatic side volley on target just seconds later, but Perkins got down well to gobble up the effort.
Both 'keepers were being tested with regularity as the two attack-minded sides began to heat up. Moose unleashed a dipping blast from range that Guzan leaped high to parry, and the Chivas goalie quickly smothered the rebound an instant before Moreno arrived.
When Jonathan Bornstein outraced Moose to latch onto Francisco Mendoza's probing ball into open space down the touchline, a goal looked certain as the Chivas left back had ample time to direct an endline cross through the United goal area, but he floated his delivery a bit too high and it curled through the danger area untouched.
Moose was seeing plenty of action all over the field, earning a deserved booking for a reckless tackle on Mendoza in the 21st minute, then cracking a half-volley just inches high and wide of Guzan's upper corner eight minutes later.
United's first 2006 SuperDraft pick created yet another glorious chance in the 33rd when Kpene switched play with a teasing ball into his path, but as Moose rolled a low cross-shot across the face of goal, Ben Olsen slowed his diagonal run at the last moment and couldn't reach what would have been a point-blank finish - though the veteran immediately expressed his displeasure at what he considered a poorly-hit ball.
Olsen banged a cross off Claudio Suarez to earn a corner kick in the 41st minute - and Kpene should have netted his first professional goal on Gomez's pinpoint delivery, but the rookie bounced his downward header straight into Guzan's gloves.
United had enjoyed a marginally better first half than their guests from California, but with nothing to show for it on the scoreboard, the home fans could be forgiven for being unsettled about the parallels to Thursday's draw with the Revolution, when D.C. gave up a soft goal immediately after halftime.
But things played out just the opposite on this occasion, as United drew first blood within three minutes of the restart.
Coach Tom Soehn had shuffled his midfield yet again, substituting Kasali Yinka Casal for Moose and sending Olsen to the right side, and in the 48th minute the veteran delivered an inviting cross into the Chivas box that was intelligently flicked on by Kpene for Gomez to lash home with a side volley.
The goal gave Kpene his first career assist and handed United the lead for the first time this MLS season.
But the visitors rallied well, despite the increasingly confident cheering of the D.C. faithful who smelled their first MLS victory of the season. Razov stepped up to a Chivas free kick in the 57th minute and used his deadly left foot to whip a shot around the United wall, but Perkins slid to his left and got down well to glove the bid cleanly and allow no rebound.
Casal's pace and work rate were causing discomfort along Chivas USA's right side and he made an even bigger impact in the 64th minute when he touched a bouncing ball past Lawson Vaughn just inside the Chivas box, prompting the young defender to rashly kick Casal in the midriff. Referee Kevin Stott raced in and pointed towards the spot, awarding a penalty kick that Jaime Moreno dispatched with flair to double the D.C. lead.
The Bolivian stepped up, then hesitated just before lifting a soft, backspun chip right down the middle as Guzan sprawled to his left in vain. The bold finish drew an awestruck roar from the fans in attendance and pushed Moreno to 107 MLS career goals, now just one behind Real Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis.
But the visitors responded gamely to the turn of events, continuing to look to Razov, their danger man up top. In the 70th minute the veteran striker got in behind the D.C. defense to lash a left-footer that was bound for the back of the net, only for Perkins to get just enough of a fingertip on the drive to direct it onto the crossbar.
Galindo had been working hard all afternoon with little reward, but he hauled his side back into the match with a fine solo run 17 minutes from full time after latching on to Jesse Marsch's pass down the right channel.
Josh Gros was tightly marking the Cuban as he turned towards goal, but Galindo simply outmuscled the United defender to carry the ball into the penalty box and cut onto his left foot, and when Gros slipped, his path was cleared to rip a point-blank shot past Perkins to cut the deficit in half.
Suarez had a golden chance to draw his side level when he snuck in at the back post on an 81st-minute set piece, but his header lacked power and Perkins was well-placed to make the save.
United threw left winger Stephen deRoux on in place of Gomez in the 78th minute, and the Jamaican-born speedster could have sealed victory for his side when Casal broke down the right side and found him with an endline cross. But he didn't trust his right foot, electing to open his body up and try a left-footer towards the near post that dribbled harmlessly wide.
Mendoza could have been the hero of the day when he popped up completely unmarked at the back post just two minutes from time, but his close-range header was acrobatically denied by a leaping save from Perkins and United survived to grab their first win of the MLS campaign.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
