Despite controlling the vast majority of the action Saturday night at Spartan Stadium, D.C. United settled for a 0-0 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes.
D.C., which has now been shut out in its last four road games, is now 3-4-3, while the Earthquakes move to 3-3-5.
The Red-and-Black held the majority of possession,
but were unable to create many dangerous opportunities throughout the game. D.C. nearly did pull off the win, but two chances by Jaime Moreno missed just wide.
On the first, Moreno latched onto a header in the box that went just wide right in the 79th minute. Then, in the 86th minute, he cut back against Dwayne De Rosario and let go a 20-yard right-footed shot that went just wide left.
D.C. United nearly broke through just 40 seconds into the match when Moreno intercepted a header back pass from San Jose's Eddie Robinson and went in one-on-one against goalkeeper Pat Onstad. However, Moreno was unable to maintain his balance and his shot went well wide of the inviting target.
The Red-and-Black was able to expose inexperienced San Jose right back Chris Aloisi early in the match, creating several opportunities down the left side.
Just a minute after a Christian Gomez left-footed dipping shot crawled just over the bar, Moreno beat Aloisi down the left side and sent a pass to the middle to Ben Olsen. Only a sliding block by Robinson prevented a near-certain goal from Olsen's first-time left-footed effort.
D.C. United continued to dominate the possession for the vast majority of the first half, but was unable to break through, settling for a 0-0 score at the break.
The second half began in much the same fashion, with D.C. forcing San Jose into a counterattacking mode. But neither team was able to generate any serious scoring chances until the 66th minute when United nearly nabbed the lead. Moreno held off Aloisi on the left side of the area and played a ball to Gomez, who got behind Ricardo Clark. But Gomez's shot from 12 yards out went just inches wide of the right post.
Despite establishing the territorial dominance once again in the second half, D.C. United nearly found themselves behind in the 70th minute. Newly acquired Earthquake midfielder Mark Chung got past two D.C. defenders and set up Brad Davis, who missed wide left with a right-footed shot inside the box.
MLSnet.com Man of Match: Nick Rimando (D.C. United)
Danny Kadah is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
D.C. United (3-4-3) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (3-3-5)
June 04, 2005 -- Spartan Stadium
Scoring Summary: NONE
D.C. United -- Nick Rimando, Bryan Namoff (John Wilson 74), Bobby Boswell, Brandon Prideaux, Joshua Gros, Brian Carroll, Christian Gomez, Ben Olsen, Dema Kovalenko (Alecko Eskandarian 79), Santino Quaranta (Jamil Walker 85), Jaime Moreno.
Substitutes Not Used: Troy Perkins, David Stokes.
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Jaime Moreno 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Christian Gomez 1, Ben Olsen 1); FOULS: 22 (Ben Olsen 7); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 7 (Christian Gomez 6); SAVES: 3 (Nick Rimando 3)
San Jose Earthquakes -- Pat Onstad, Chris Aloisi, Danny Califf, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett, Mark Chung, Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De Rosario, Brad Davis, Ronald Cerritos (Julian Nash 79), Alejandro Moreno.
Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Cochrane, Jon Conway, Tighe Dombrowski, Kevin Goldthwaite, Wes Hart, Danny O'Rourke, Ian Russell, Chris Wondolowski.
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Ronald Cerritos 2, Brad Davis 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (3 tied with 1); FOULS: 14 (Wade Barrett 4); OFFSIDES: 4 (Ronald Cerritos 3); CORNER KICKS: 4 (Ronald Cerritos 3); SAVES: 2 (Pat Onstad 2)
Misconduct Summary:
DC -- Brandon Prideaux (caution; Pushing, Holding) 71
SJ -- Dwayne De Rosario (caution; Dissent) 71
DC -- Ben Olsen (caution; Dissent) 80
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Referee's Assistants: -George Gansner; Emiliano Monje
4th Official: Ramon Hernandez
Attendance: 11,989
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Clear-and-72-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
