For the first hour of their match against Chivas USA, it appeared that D.C. United was on their way to gutting out a much-needed road victory and taking an important step at turning around a disappointing start to the season.
Marcelo Gallardo had put the visitors ahead in the 30th minute with a tremendous goal and D.C. United looked ready to take advantage of an injury-depleted Chivas USA squad that was missing nine players, including their entire starting defensive backline.
Over the next half hour, though, everything unraveled.
Chivas USA scored three unanswered goals in a 10-minute span to send last-place D.C. United crashing to a third consecutive loss.
"It's very emotionally draining," said D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn. "We put a lot of work into making sure we were doing the things that we've talked about all week (like) being harder to play against, and then we threw caution to the wind ... and they punished us."
Added captain Jaime Moreno: "It's sad that we work so hard for 65 minutes then we gave everything away. We put a lot of effort in; after that, the game changed 180 degrees."
Through its first eight matches, D.C. United have only two wins, including an abysmal winless road record where they have been outscored by a total of 11 goals to one.
Heading into Saturday's contest, though, Chivas USA also had their share of struggles with only one win on the year and a rash of injuries to contend with. The match was a golden opportunity for D.C. United to take advantage of.
"We're both going through difficult times with injuries," said Soehn. "We just didn't do a good enough job over 90 minutes."
Prior to letting their lead slip, United were able to control the majority of possession. D.C. out-shot Chivas USA by a 6-1 margin in the first half.
However, everything changed in the 73rd minute when Jesse Marsch knocked in a loose rebound that bounced off goalkeeper Zach Wells inside the penalty area.
"He had to come up with a couple of key saves for us, especially on games on the road that are going to be tight," said Soehn of his goalkeeper.
The goals that followed were a result of D.C. United's inability to keep the ball, said Soehn. "In the end we gave them a lot of confidence and they put pressure on us. They came out with more intensity and we didn't handle it well."
D.C. United does not have much time to reflect on the loss as they heads to Canada for a midweek match against Toronto FC on Wednesday.
"We're going to evaluate everything," said Soehn. "Right now it's not good enough. So if it means changes, we'll make changes. We have to rededicate ourselves ... winning and losing is a habit and when you get into a habit of losing, you almost expect it to come and we have to change that."
Moreno was to the point in reflecting on the loss and the next match.
"We have to turn the page," he said. "Life continues, this is our job and we have to do it better."
Danny Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
