Exactly eight years ago, on November 14, 2004, D.C. United triumphed 3-2 over the then-Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City) at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., to win its fourth MLS Cup.
Kansas City opened the scoring account in the 6th minute, but United registering three goals within seven minutes shortly thereafter – an Alecko Eskandarian brace and an own goal – proved to be too much to overcome. Wizards forward Josh Wolff, now an assistant coach for the Black-and-Red, tallied in the 58th minute, but Kansas City would never find the equalizer. Current Head Coach Ben Olsen, in his seventh playing season with United, went the full 90 minutes.
On Sunday, D.C. has the opportunity to return to the championship match for the first time since the ’04 win. Down 3-1 to the Houston Dynamo after Leg 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, United must win by three goals to advance outright to the Cup. A victory by a margin of two would force two 15-minute overtime periods, and possibly, penalty kicks to determine the victor.
