D.C. United (7-4-4, 25 points) took sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night against the New England Revolution (3-4-8, 13 points).
The first half was a closely contested half with solid chances few and far between due to the defensive prowess of both sides. However, D.C. United defender, Frederic Brillant had a few opportunities on set pieces to finish an early goal for the Black-and-Red. Matt Turner made timely saves to keep the Frenchman off the scoresheet.
The action picked up in the second half of the match. In the 56th minute of the contest, Turner rushed off his line and collided with Wayne Rooney. The Revs’ goalkeeper was shown a red card and had to exit the game. Brad Knighton came on for Tajon Buchannon to replace Turner.
New England broke the deadlock in the 61st minute of the match. when Juan Agudelo headed home Cristian Penilla’s back post ball for his third goal of the year.
Lucas Rodriguez was a man on a mission this game. He split the Revolution defense mulitiple times throughout the match and in the late stages of the game, weaved past the New England backline. His shot was blocked in the 85th minute by Jalil Anibaba.
In the 87th minute, Steven Birnbaum smashed a rising volley that appeared to be blocked by Brandon Bye. After further review by VAR it was deemed a handball in the box and D.C. United was awarded a penalty in the 90th minute.
Wayne Rooney stepped up and rifled the ball into the back of the net to collect his eighth goal of the season and 20th of his D.C. United career. The matched ended 1-1 and the point took United to the top of the Eastern Conference with the Union losing to the Portland Timbers on the same night.
D.C. United will play their next match at Audi Field after a three-game road trip, against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, May 29th at 8 PM ET. The match will be broadcast on FloFC.
