Washington, D.C. (July 2, 2011) - With hundreds of Union supporters shaking the upper deck of RFK Stadium after the short trip down I-95, Philadelphia earned a 2-2 draw against D.C. United, extending their lead atop the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia battled back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, earning the draw after Carlos Ruiz’s 84th minute equalizer, his fifth goal of the season and second in as many matches.
After a back and forth first half, it appeared as though the Union (7-4-6) and D.C. United (4-5-7) would head into the break scoreless. But in the 44th minute, Josh Wolff finished off a Dwayne De Rosario cross from five yards out to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Appearing in his first match for United after a trade from New York, De Rosario beat Brian Carroll toward the goal line to the right of Union 'keeper Faryd Mondragon. As Carlos Valdes came across to help, De Rosario laid it across the box to an unmarked Wolff, who tapped into the open net for the 1-0 edge.
Both teams had early opportunities to open their accounts. In the 14th minute, Valdes struck a blast from distance just high and wide after a lengthy passing sequence from the Union.
Five minutes later, Sebastien Le Toux laid a ball to Danny Mwanga on the left edge of the box. His strike was tipped just wide with a brilliant save from United 'keeper Bill Hamid. Mondragon responded a minute later with an equally spectacular save at the near post on a volley from Chris Pontius from 12 yards out.
As the teams began to settle following a frenetic first 30, Le Toux, who recorded a hat trick in the first-ever meeting between the two teams last season, was sent in on a breakaway by Veljko Paunovic. But after three touches, Le Toux’s shot from within the area was just wide of the far post.
The failure to finish opportunities led to Philadelphia trailing 1-0 at the break for the second consecutive match.
Pressing forward in the opening minutes after halftime, Philadelphia found an equalizer in the 49th minute on an own goal from rookie defender Perry Kitchen.
Paunovic gathered a deflected ball thirty yards out and dribbled toward the box before sending a cross in the direction of Le Toux. Kitchen shocked his 'keeper, deflecting the cross with his shin into the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.
D.C. United nearly regained the lead in the 50th minute, but Pontius was robbed by Mondragon once again. Open on the left of the box, Pontius’ shot across the goal mouth was tipped by the Union 'keeper on a full-extension dive. The ball ricocheted off the far post before being cleared away by defender Danny Califf.
The Red and Black would find the second goal in the 57th minute. Taking advantage of a wide-open midfield, Andy Najar gathered in the center circle and dribbled forward before unleashing a laser from 35 yards that knuckled in at the far post off the fingertips of Mondragon.
Trailing for the second time, Philadelphia nearly knotted the match in the 60th minute when Le Toux curled a cross to the head of Ruiz six yards out. But the Guatemalan's point-blank attempt was directly at Hamid, who stood his ground and made the save.
Minutes later, Ruiz found a deflected ball in the air inside the box but his header was again denied by the young United goalkeeper.
After struggling to finish their chances all night, Philadelphia received would find a late equalizer. Pressing forward in the 84th minute, Sebastien Le Toux found Sheanon Williams, who snuck behind Pontius on a run to the goal line. The defender pushed a cross to the top of the six yard box to a cutting Ruiz, who finished with the outside of his left foot to knot the match at 2-2.
With the draw, the Union move to 2-4-2 on the road this year. Philadelphia extended their unbeaten streak to three matches, earning a result for the eighth time in nine matches.
The Union will travel cross-country to take on the San Jose Earthquakes next Saturday. The 10:30 p.m. match will air on Comcast SportsNet.
Scoring Summary:
DC -- Josh Wolff 4 (Dwayne De Rosario 1, Andy Najar 3) 44 PHI -- own goal (Perry Kitchen) 49 DC -- Andy Najar 2 (unassisted) 58 PHI -- Carlos Ruiz 5 (Sheanon Williams 2, Sebastien Le Toux 6) 84
Lineups:
Philadelphia Union -- Faryd Mondragon, Sheanon Williams, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes, Jordan Harvey, Justin Mapp (Jack McInerney 78), Sebastien Le Toux, Brian Carroll, Veljko Paunovic (Gabriel Farfan 66), Danny Mwanga (Keon Daniel 71), Carlos Ruiz.
Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Nakazawa, Amobi Okugo, Roger Torres, Zac MacMath.
D.C. United -- Bill Hamid, Perry Kitchen, Ethan White, Brandon McDonald, Daniel Woolard, Andy Najar, Dwayne De Rosario, Clyde Simms, Chris Pontius, Charlie Davies (Blake Brettschneider 57), Josh Wolff (Fred 68).
Substitutes Not Used: Brandon Barklage, Stephen King, Chris Korb, Joseph Ngwenya, Steve Cronin.
Misconduct Summary:
PHI -- Jordan Harvey (caution; Tactical Foul) 16
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja
Referee's Assistants: Chris Strickland, Adam Garner 4th Official: Daniel Fitzgerald
Attendance: 13,365
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Partly Cloudy and 92 degrees
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