WASHINGTON – Thanks to a Dwayne De Rosario brace, Saturday’s 3-2 final result at RFK Stadium belonged to Toronto FC. But no one could deny that the night belonged to Jaime Moreno.
While his team ended an abysmal campaign with one last disappointing loss, D.C. United’s captain and icon brought down the curtain on a truly matchless MLS career with a goal in his final United appearance before an emotional crowd of 18,071 spectators.
Moreno was honored before kickoff by MLS commissioner Don Garber and a parade of stars and notables. Then, as if it was scripted, United surged forward and scored exactly one minute in.
Andy Najar fed Devon McTavish down the right flank and the fullback hit a low cross to Pablo Hernández, whose shot was blocked at the near post by Milos Kocic only to bounce into Santino Quaranta’s path. DC’s left winger lashed a point-blank finish into the net, and the decibel levels inside RFK spiked even higher as the crowd roared at its team’s rare early lead.
Propelled by the goal, the home side maintained the lion’s share of possession as Toronto were forced to chase the ball and mind their defensive shape. But few further chances materialized and the visitors gradually hauled themselves back into the match, and their reward arrived with a 23rd-minute equalizer off the left boot of Maicon Santos.
The Brazilian took a pass from Nick LaBrocca and when no one closed him down, he drifted into the top corner of the DC penalty box to unleash a thunderbolt that flashed past goalkeeper Troy Perkins, nestling into the lower corner of the net just inside the far post.
As they have on too many occasions this season, United’s defense shot themselves in the foot in the 32nd minute and were very lucky not to fall behind as a result. Dejan Jakovic played a dodgy back pass to Perkins, who scuffed his clearance right at Santos – standing just 10 yards away – and seconds later Jacob Peterson hit the post with a flicked header. DC were only let off the hook by a whistle on De Rosario, who had strayed offsides in pursuit of the loose ball.
A few minutes later, a classic moment of Moreno craftiness gave the home faithful the moment they’d been hoping for. Gloving a TFC corner kick, Perkins spotted his captain in space and hit a quick drop kick into his path.
Tracking it down at the left edge of the Toronto box, Moreno faced up Julian de Guzman and faked one cross, then another – and when de Guzman flinched on both, United’s captain hit the ball off his raised arm to prompt a penalty call from referee Silviu Petrescu.
The crowd buzzed, knowing the most prolific scorer in MLS history would be taking the spot kick as usual, and he did not disappoint. The Bolivian entered the match tied with FC Dallas striker Jeff Cunningham in career goals, but he made sure he would end his DC career as the top dog by stroking his 133rd career goal beyond Kocic’s reach into the right side of the net.
Yet Toronto proved they were ready to put up more than token resistance, drawing level on a clever set piece less than three minutes into the second half.
LaBrocca was again the instigator, lofting a long free kick into the United box – and when several TFC players returned, en masse, from an offsides position just before the ball was played, it seemed to distract the DC defenders and De Rosario was left to loop a simple header into the upper corner to run the score to 2-2.
The flank battle between youngsters Nicholas Lindsay and Najar was an intriguing subplot and it heated up when Lindsay raked his arm across Najar’s face as United’s Honduran rookie flicked the ball past him at the edge of the Toronto box, drawing blood from Najar’s lip and a yellow card from Petrescu. But Toronto’s academy product recovered well, starting the counterattack that gave the Reds their first lead in the 65th minute.
A few quick passes unlocked DC all too easily and De Rosario capped the move with a simple tap-in at the far post.
That certainly put a damper on United’s festive evening, though Moreno was given a hero’s ovation when he finally ran out of gas and made way for Danny Allsopp in the 81st minute. Nearly every player in black – and a few in red – traded hugs or handshakes with the living legend as he walked off the RFK stadium turf for the last time in United's colors.
Paced by veterans de Guzman and De Rosario, TFC salted away the win despite plenty of United pressure, drawing a close to a difficult season for both clubs.
Scoring Summary:
DC -- Santino Quaranta 2 (unassisted) 2
TOR -- Maicon Santos 4 (Nick LaBrocca 5) 23
DC -- Jaime Moreno 2 (penalty kick) 39
TOR -- Dwayne De Rosario 14 (Nick LaBrocca 6) 48
TOR -- Dwayne De Rosario 15 (Jacob Peterson 2, Nicholas Lindsay 3) 65
Misconduct Summary:
TOR -- Julian de Guzman (caution; Handball) 38
DC -- Julius James (caution; Goalkeeper Interference) 56
TOR -- Nicholas Lindsay (caution; Reckless Foul) 63
Lineups:
Toronto FC -- Milos Kocic, Nick Garcia, Nana Attakora, Ty Harden, Dan Gargan, Nicholas Lindsay, Julian de Guzman, Jacob Peterson (Gabe Gala 85), Nick LaBrocca, Dwayne De Rosario, Maicon Santos (Doneil Henry 90).
Substitutes Not Used: Mista, Raivis Hscanovics, Joseph Nane, Maksim Usanov, Stefan Frei.
D.C. United -- Troy Perkins, Devon McTavish, Julius James, Dejan Jakovic, Jordan Graye, Andy Najar, Branko Boskovic, Kurt Morsink (Stephen King 74), Santino Quaranta, Pablo Hernandez (Carlos Varela 76), Jaime Moreno (Danny Allsopp 82).
Substitutes Not Used: Junior Carreiro, Adam Cristman, Clyde Simms, Chase Harrison.
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Referee's Assistants: Philippe Briere; Jason Cullum
4th Official: Geoff Gamble
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-64-degrees
Attendance: 18,071
