D.C. United began their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign by fending off a spirited challenge from the Rochester Rhinos at the Maryland Soccerplex on Tuesday night, grabbing a 2-0 win on the strength of a rare free kick brace from defender Marc Burch.
The MLS side looked disjointed at times and left it late as the score remained 0-0 until the final stages, but Burch's powerful left foot proved the difference on two set pieces as D.C. coach Tom Soehn got away with resting most of his everyday starters following Sunday's draining 4-1 win against Los Angeles.
Rochester fielded a starting lineup with several faces that would be familiar to MLS fans, including goalkeeper Scott Vallow, Ugandan veteran Tenywa Bonseu and former Real Salt Lake midfielders Luke Kreamalmeyer and Leslie "Tiger" Fitzpatrick. The Rhinos were arrayed in a 4-5-1 formation spearheaded by Mauricio Salles, the big Brazilian striker leading Rochester in both goals and assists this season.
But a red card in the Rhinos' previous Open Cup match against Pittsburgh denied player/coach Steve Guppy the chance to put one over on his former club, the English winger having spent an injury-plagued spell with United in 2005.
United ran out a young first XI, albeit one sprinkled with experience. Luciano Emilio captained the side, leading the line alongside Francis Doe, backed by an entirely new midfield of Rod Dyachenko, Dan Stratford, Ryan Cordeiro and Quavas Kirk.
Zach Wells remained between the pipes for D.C., but he was fronted by a reshuffled back line as Devon McTavish and Marc Burch manned the central spots together for the first time, flanked by Gonzalo Martinez and rookie Pat Carroll.
A long D.C. throw into the Rhinos box in the first minute opened up a close-range header for Dyachenko at the far post, but with the goal gaping, the Russian-born playmaker tamely bounced his effort into Scott Vallow's arms.
With plenty of big bodies and willing legs in midfield, the match quickly took on a scrappy, direct character heavy on high, speculative balls and crunching challenges.
Dyachenko did better with his next look at goal, cracking a sharp volley that was destined for the left side of the net before Vallow shuffled to his right to parry the shot wide in the 12th minute.
But Emilio was handed his side's best chance of the early going when he seized on Vallow's poor pass out of the Rhinos box in the 25th minute, jinking left, then right before whistling a shot inches over the crossbar.
But the play kicked off a sequence of D.C. dominance as the MLS side finally got the ball on the turf and began to string together passes. Doe capped a mazy run deep into the box with a quick shot that tested Vallow's alertness at the near post, then Emilio flashed a glancing header wide on the ensuing corner kick.
Cordeiro was coming into the game now, seeing more of the ball along the left flank, and he soon popped up again to reach Kirk's cross after it had floated over Emilio, snapping a right-footed half-volley on target that forced Vallow to produce another impressive save.
D.C. boss Tom Soehn made a host of changes at the break, yanking Stratford and Emilio to insert regulars Clyde Simms and Fred into midfield as the Brazilian took on a free playmaking role alongside Dyachenko. Soehn also handed new signing Craig Thompson his United debut in place of Martinez, which prompted another rejiggering of the back line as Carroll and McTavish paired up centrally.
Fred made an impact almost immediately -- though probably not the sort he'd prefer -- when Cordeiro chased down a loose ball along the endline inside the Rochester box and spotted the Brazilian's late run to the far post. But with Vallow at his mercy, Fred snatched at Cordeiro's pass and skied his shot way over the top.
McTavish's poor clearance bounced right to Fitzpatrick in the 54th minute, leading to a good chance for the Rhinos as the dreadlocked midfielder swung the ball wide to Danny Earls on the left, who curled a teasing cross to the far post that Kreamalmeyer clipped just wide of goal.
The USL-1 side was growing in confidence as the scoreless deadlock lingered, and Salles' physical presence and relentless harrying seemed to be discomfiting the United defense. He found space at the top of the box to unleash a stinging left-footed shot that arrowed towards the upper corner of the goal, only to carry just wide and clang off the support stanchion behind the net.
As United were pressed forward more eagerly in search of openings, Burch stamped his mark on the match in the 78th minute, from a blistering set piece nearly 30 yards out. Fred's direct run at goal drew the initial foul by Scott Palguta, but there was no doubt about the free kick taker as Burch stood alone over the ball.
He'd produced a screamer of a set piece that had banged off the crossbar in the final stages of Sunday's 4-1 win over the L.A. Galaxy -- yet this time Burch kept his effort low and it paid off, as Vallow was partially screened by the bodies in front of his goal and could not get down in time to keep the shot from skimming into the far corner of the net for a 1-0 United lead.
But the University of Maryland product was not done yet. Dyachenko earned another set piece, this one even closer to goal, and Burch strode forward and smacked another low bid that took a fortuitous deflection off the Rochester wall, wrongfooting Vallow to push the score to 2-0.
The Rhinos quickly tried to fashion a response and Wells had to be alert in the 86th minute, quickly changing direction to paw Matthew Delicate's bouncing effort away from goal.
But that would be the last real chance for the USL-1 outfit, sending United on to the quarterfinal round, to be played at the Soccerplex in a week's time, when they will face the winner of the Chicago Fire-Cleveland City Stars match.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
