nor conceded a goal.
But that changed very early on, as a looping header from Jimmy Conrad from a corner kick somehow found its way under the crossbar and into the goal to give the Wizards a third-minute lead. It was the first appearance of the year for the 2005 MLS Defender of the Year, recovering from a sports hernia injury.
The home side then had a glorious opportunity to double their lead in the seventh minute, but Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis blocked Josh Wolff's penalty attempt after center back Michael Parkhurst was adjudged to have pulled down the U.S. international as he ran toward goal.
In Denver, FC Dallas came into the match looking to score the first goal, after being forced to come from behind to win their opening two matches on the young season. It didn't take long for the Hoops to achieve that, a Greg Vanney free kick from some 25 yards whipped over the wall, beating Rapids 'keeper Joe Cannon inside his left-hand post. It was Vanney's first goal since returning to MLS and joining FC Dallas in 2005.
The Hoops doubled their lead on 25 minutes with a wonder goal from Roberto Mina. Running with the ball at pace on the right flank, Mina unleashed a shot from 25 yards out that hit the underside of the bar and sailed to the back of the net on the near post, leaving Cannon dumbfounded.
But FC Dallas defender Clarence Goodson suffered through a nightmare over the remainder of the half as the Rapids pulled level. First he handled the ball in the area, knocking down a long ball played over the Colorado attackers. Jovan Kirovski sent Dario Sala the wrong way from the spot (39) to pull a goal back.
Then in first-half stoppage time, Terry Cooke swung in a cross from the right and Goodson turned it into his own goal as he tried to clear, gifting the Rapids the equalizer. As well, earlier on, Goodson had an apparent goal ruled out for offside.
At RFK Stadium, D.C. United won for the second consecutive match (both at home) while consigning Houston Dynamo to a second consecutive defeat in comprehensive fashion.
The home side took the lead in the 25th minute. Referee Abbey Okulaja whistled for a foul instead of playing advantage when United took the ball in front of goal, but the Black-and-Red still capitalized. Christian Gomez sent the resulting free kick across the face of goal, Pat Onstad made an acrobatic save to keep out Jaime Moreno's volley, but Josh Gros pounded home the rebound from close range.
Then Gomez doubled the lead late in the match, his free kick from just outside the top of area taking a deflection off the wall before sailing to the back of the net (77).
At Crew Stadium, the Fire had a win and a draw from the first two games to start their nine-game road swing while their new stadium is completed, while the Crew were the only team in MLS without a point from their first two games.
The visitors took the lead early in the second half, as Ohio native Chris Rolfe once again showed you can go home again. Chad Barrett raced through the heart of the Crew defense before slipping a through ball to Rolfe, who finished with aplomb from inside the area (49). It was his fourth goal in three league matches in Columbus against the Crew.
But the hosts pulled level just six minutes later. Jim Curtin was adjudged to have bundled over Kei Kamara from behind, and Sebastian Rozental perfectly slotted his penalty inside the left-hand post for the leveller.
At Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Red Bulls came to Utah as the only team in MLS to have never defeated Real, after the teams played to a pair of draws a year ago.
That looked to have changed when New York took the lead after 77 minutes. A neat pass from Amado Guevara put Edson Buddle in a good position, but his low drive was blocked by Scott Garlick. But the Real 'keeper couldn't hold onto the shot and Guevara raced in to slide home the rebound from a sharp angle.
But RSL answered in the 89th minute as Jason Kreis hit for his all-time MLS best 101th career goal. Following a foul in the right corner, Chris Klein swung the ball in and found Kreis unmarked in the heart of the area, and he powerfully headed home to leave the teams level for the third time in three meetings lifetime.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
