A weary D.C. United side dug deep and produced a gritty second-half comeback to overcome the New England Revolution at sultry RFK Stadium on Sunday, claiming a 4-2 win that pushes them four points ahead of the Revs in the Eastern Conference race and further underlines their championship credentials.
"I give our team a lot of credit in a lot of ways, because they are resilient," said head coach Tom Soehn. "They've been through a hard schedule and getting up for games. I've pushed them pretty hard through this stretch and they responded."
Clearly fatigued from Thursday night's draining clash with Chivas USA and the cross-country travel it involved, United nonetheless enjoyed plenty of possession and built wave after wave of attacks while Steve Nicol's side largely sat deep and waited to counterattack. That strategy seemed to have worked to perfection when a 45th-minute Taylor Twellman finish canceled out Fred's opener and Jay Heaps scored in a controversial goalmouth scramble just after halftime, handing New England a 2-1 lead.
"I think our attack from the middle of the field was very good," said D.C. playmaker Christian Gomez. "We had a lot of good scoring opportunities. But when you play a team that has deadly forwards like they do, you give them a chance and they'll bury one in the back of the net. That happened today."
But just when the sudden turn of events seemed likely to sink United, several veterans popped up to rescue their team's flagging fortunes. First, captain Jaime Moreno netted his 110th career goal -- his first from the run of play this season -- and then Ben Olsen and Brian Carroll came off the bench to provide crucial assists that gave D.C. their final margin of victory.
"It was one of those games where you could that tell we've been playing a lot -- it was just kind of fading in and out," said D.C. goalkeeper Troy Perkins. "But we showed a lot of character here at home, really pushing through that. In the first five minutes of the second half, you could just tell that we were real tired, real dead. We pushed through it and just kept fighting."
Olsen took Fred's place on the right wing just past the hour mark, and his romp to the endline began the sequence that led to the gamewinner as Luciano Emilio astutely flicked Gomez's shot past Matt Reis in the 67th minute.
Afterwards, Olsen admitted that even in a substitute role, his legs were still feeling the effects of Thursday's match. But he stepped up to the task handed to him by Soehn and it proved to be the difference in the latest installment of a rivalry that has produced some of the league's most memorable matches in recent years.
"[Soehn] said that there's been a lot of games, and we're going to get you in -- bring us some energy," said Olsen, describing his super-sub duties. "It's not always an ideal role. Your ego takes a shot sometimes when you're not starting. But you do it, do the best with it, get in there and help the team."
Carroll, who has lost his starting spot to Clyde Simms in recent weeks, showed much the same spirit when he entered with some 20 minutes left. It was his solo run that set up Emilio for the clincher in the 83rd minute, pushing the Brazilian's season total to a league-leading 18 goals.
"That comes from fresh legs, and Brian has kept a great attitude through the whole season," said Soehn. "He is one of those guys who is a professional. We had them under a lot of pressure and he took advantage of that. He had a run that was one of the runs of his career. It was a great play."
Moreno was the center of attention before the match as United staged a moving video tribute in celebration of his MLS-record 109 career goals, and he responded with an imperious performance as the linchpin of the Black-and-Red attack. His contribution was made all the more remarkable when Soehn revealed that Bolivian legend has been hampered by an illness that prompted the use of intravenous fluids before the match.
"He had an IV [in] when I got into work today because he has been sick," said the United boss. "I told him I'd inject him with a virus before every game. He was fantastic today, showed a lot of composure. I've always said this: he makes our team better. He makes the guys around him better."
The two teams have met in the Eastern Conference final twice in the past three seasons and D.C. are fully aware that they may have to vanquish the Revs again in order to play for a fifth MLS Cup title on their home field come November.
"Yeah, there's no doubt," said Olsen. "They're a classy team and they know how to win. We'll continue to have battles with them. It's not over."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
