the United goalkeeper having come on as a substitute just seconds earlier.
• San Jose then hit for the winner in the 73rd minute. Substitute Arturo Alvarez cut in from the right and saw his shot deflected onto the crossbar. But Ryan Johnson -- who saw those two earlier goals waved off -- came in to send a diving header from the rebound into the goal for his ninth of the season.
• United head coach Tom Soehn made three changes to the team that lost 2-1 to Seattle Sounders FC at home on Sept. 12. Lawson Vaughn made his first United league start, coming into the back four along with Marc Burch for Bryan Namoff and Avery John. Chris Pontius came back into the midfield for Fred.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-4-2): Josh Wicks (Milos Kocic 52) - Lawson Vaughn, Clyde Simms, Julius James, Marc Burch (Christian Gomez 76) - Santino Quaranta, Ben Olsen, Rodney Wallace, Chris Pontius - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno (Thabiso Khumalo 78). Substitutes Not Used: Fred, Dejan Jakovic, Avery John, Devon McTavish
• "Obviously it's thoroughly disappointing. We had every opportunity to run away with the game in the first half. We were unable to put our chances away and any team you keep around it's going to come back to haunt you. We came out flat in the second half, on a day - any day you can't afford it -- but on a day when we're trying to make the playoffs, it's thoroughly disappointing," Soehn said. "I have to go back and evaluate whether I had the right blend of guys on the field."
TEAM NEWS
• After going the first 11 league games without a loss at RFK Stadium, United have now dropped two in a row to start a stretch of four consecutive home games coming down the stretch. The visit by Chivas USA will be followed by a visit by the Columbus Crew in two weeks; United conclude the season with a trip to Kansas City.
• "That's going to be a vital game now. We put ourselves in a bad spot by slipping two home games. We've talked about this home stretch but talking about it doesn't mean nothing if you don't finish through and get your points. We let ourselves down and we have to find a way out of it," Soehn said.
• United have also fallen back out of the top eight overall and the wild card spots with the back-to-back losses, trailing New England by one point. Two of the teams directly ahead of them also have two games in hand - New England and Chivas USA.
• "When you get down to the last few games, every game is important. All the teams in the standings are tight so we need to come out with the mentality that we can't give them anything. I think we gave [San Jose] way too much," said defender Lawson Vaughn.
• The road to a playoff spot will be tougher when Josh Wicks was ruled out for 4-6 weeks after suffering a separated shoulder in the incident that forced him from the San Jose match. Milos Kocic will step in as first-choice; while he had played just three league games (two as a starter), he has started the last two CONCACAF Champions League matches.
• "We have to deal with those things and stay focused for the next games, because we're still in it -- we're still fighting for the playoffs and want to stay as focused as we can," Kocic said. "I'm ready, I'll step up for the team and try to do the best I can so we can fight for a spot in the playoffs."
• On Wednesday, United moved to the verge of qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage with a 5-1 win against Trinidad & Tobago's San Juan Jabloteh. Christian Gomez (13, 68) and Boyzzz Khumalo (30, 90) scored twice while Fred added another (30). With a victory by Mexico's Toluca on Oct. 1, United will be through to next spring's quarterfinals.
• Here's Soehn's team: Milos Kocic - Devon McTavish, Julius James (Marc Burch 78); David Habarugira, Christian Gomez, Clyde Simms (Danny Szetela 56), Fred, Andrew Jacobson, Rodney Wallace, Chris Pontius (Tiyi Shipalane 66), Thabiso Khumalo
CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA were pegged back for a second consecutive draw, this time the New York Red Bulls getting a late equalizer for a 1-1 result on Saturday evening at The Home Depot Center. Chivas have 38 points from 25 matches, still in a tie for fourth place in the Western Conference with Colorado, five points behind division leaders Houston Dynamo.
LAST MATCH
• Chivas USA were coming off a scoreless draw at Seattle, their sixth attacking shutout in nine games -- and 10th defensive shutout of the season. The Red Bulls were 2-1-1 under interim coach Richie Williams after a 1-1 home draw with New England the previous Friday.
• Chivas finally broke through of a dour match in the 64th minute. Sacha Kljestan strode forward out of the midfield and let fly from nearly 30 yards, his shot taking a deflection off Red Bulls midfielder Seth Stammler and fooling goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul for his fourth on the season.
• But with six minutes left, the Red Bulls evened terms. Sinisa Ubiparipovic flighted in a cross from the left flank and Juan Pablo Angel was left all alone in the heart of the area, heading home for his 10th goal on the season.
• There was one final twist in the tale. Andrew Boyens was adjudged to have handled a ball in a goalmouth melee, and Kljestan stepped to the spot for a stoppage-time penalty kick. But he pulled his effort just outside the left-hand post.
• Chivas USA coach Preki made one change to the team that played to a scoreless draw with Seattle Sounders FC on the road the weekend before. Carey Talley came back into the back four for the suspended Marcelo Saragosa.
• Here's Preki's team (4-4-2): Zach Thornton - Carey Talley, Yamith Cuesta, Jonathan Bornstein, Ante Jazic (Claudio Suarez 85) - Jesus Padilla (Maykel Galindo 46), Michael Lahoud, Paulo Nagamura, Sacha Kljestan - Justin Braun, Maicon Santos. Substitutes Not Used: Jon Conway, Eduardo Lillingston, Jesse Marsch, Shavar Thomas, Mariano Trujillo
TEAM NEWS
• While Chivas has suffered seven of its nine losses since the start of June, the current three-game undefeated run is the longest since a five-game run April 25-May 23, one of two five-game unbeaten skeins this season.
• "It was tough for us to find a breakthrough and once we did we failed to score a second. We had so many opportunities and that's what in the end cost us the game. We make one mistake in 90 minutes and we got punished. But you can't fault the guys from the lack of effort because the effort was there," Preki said. "We pushed forward, we moved the ball pretty decent. I'm very disappointed with the result because this almost feels like a loss for us."
• Michael Lahoud was given a third consecutive start in the center of midfield, as Jesse Marsch spent a third consecutive game as an unused substitute. Justin Braun also started for a third consecutive game.
• "Those two guys are pretty athletic, they both play dynamic and fast. They are giving us some quality. It's very nice to see a couple young players that come in and play a good role," Preki said.
• Braun has started both as an out-and-out striker and wide on the right of midfield - and played both positions against New York, starting out up top as a striker, then moving to the right flank for 10 minutes before moving back to striker with the introduction of Maykel Galindo.
• "I'm comfortable playing both those positions," said Braun. "Right midfield is fun because you have a lot of space, but I like striker as well. I just want to do my best wherever the coaches put me."
• The draw did keep Chivas USA in the top eight overall, one point ahead of eighth-place New England. In ninth spot, just two points back, are D.C. United - though Chivas does hold two games in hand over United (as do the Revolution).
• "First thing is to make the playoffs, that's the main objective. Obviously if we can climb the ladder we would all love that. We are still in a good position, we still have three home games and two away games so anything's possible. For now, we have to regroup and refocus and go to D.C. where it's going to be really, a tough game," Preki said.
• Said Kljestan: "I think we match up well with D.C. I think we need to go there trying to get three points because we just lost two points in this game, so we need to go get three points out of that game and I feel like we can do it as long as we play well."
