For more than a month, D.C. United have enjoyed a firm wind at their backs, rolling up an eight-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and scoring 21 goals in the process. So there appeared to be ample reason for optimism as the Black-and-Red kicked off SuperLiga 2008 on Saturday night.
But there's just something about a certain Mexican club, something that makes United's good fortune vanish into thin air.
"It seems like whenever we play Chivas, nothing really goes our way," noted a wry Devon McTavish after the Guadalajara-based outfit's 2-1 win at RFK Stadium.
Last year United managed to lose two of their four matches with Chivas under heartbreaking and head-shaking circumstances, and tonight there was plenty of further evidence to back up McTavish's claim.
First, Luciano Emilio hit the post with a piledriver of a shot after a few minutes, only to see Chivas seize the lead off an Omar Arellano breakaway as Los Rayados swept forward on one of the fluid attacking moves that gave United's defense fits in the early going.
"In the first half, we had a couple guys coming deep off our back four to collect the ball, and when they were able to play balls in uncontested," said D.C. netminder Zach Wells. "That presented a little bit of a problem because we had four guys in the back and they had five in the midfield, and we weren't quick enough to adjust to their formation and stay with their runners."
But after being outhustled and outmaneuvered by their opponents for most of the first half, United made some tactical changes, pushing McTavish from center back into midfield to counteract the Mexicans' numerical advantage as striker Jaime Moreno dropped deeper to orchestrate possession. Ten minutes into half two, McTavish even dashed into the Chivas penalty area and slapped a shot of his own off the right post.
D.C. had hauled their way back into contention, only to have RFK's lights blink out in the 59th minute just as they were asserting their influence over the match.
"I thought the momentum had really changed," said Soehn of the period leading up to the 19-minute delay. "It was very disappointing when the lights went out, because it gave them a chance to recuperate."
Then, a few minutes after the restart, referee Walter Quesada -- who up to that point had officiated the game with a light touch -- called a very tight foul on Clyde Simms as he challenged Arellano outside the United box. Mexican international Gonzalo Pineda made the most of the free kick, bending a sensational shot over the wall and into the net to double the lead and leave the home side fuming.
"The foul, I thought was a soft foul," said Soehn. "When you watch the way the flow of the game was going, he wasn't calling many of those soft ones, and you don't want many of those soft ones called, even if it's for you. So it was disappointing."
Soehn's charges rallied gamely though, taking advantage of the Mexicans' tiring legs. Emilio swiveled past Jose Antonio Olvera and slotted home to cut the lead in half, then earn a penalty kick off the same Chivas defender's foul on him just two minutes later.
Yet even Moreno's golden touch had turned to lead on this evening, as the United legend saw his spot kick well saved by Luis Ernesto Michel.
The Black-and-Red could only shake their heads at that rarest of occurrences -- a Jaime Moreno penalty miss.
"With all the penalties he's taken in his career, sooner or later he's going to miss one," said Soehn. "I like his percentages though."
He and his squad can only hope that Tuesday's pivotal group match with Atlante is not quite as star-crossed -- the Mexican side went down 4-0 to the Houston Dynamo in Saturday's other Group A match.
"It was a surprise, huh?" noted Emilio. "Jaime scores a lot of goals on PKs -- unlucky today. These things happen in soccer and we need to look forward and think about Atlante."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
