FRISCO, Texas -- Jaime Moreno scored on a penalty kick in the 58th minute on Saturday night, helping D.C. United secure a point against FC Dallas in a 2-2 draw at Pizza Hut Park.
FC Dallas got goals from Jeff Cunningham in the 18th minute and David Ferreira in the 50th minute while D.C. United kept pace with a Marc Burch goal in the 44th minute.
Cunningham's goal, his 10th of the year and first in three games, gave him 114 for his career, tying him with Ante Razov for second place on the league's all-time scoring list. The veteran striker converted after Dave van den Bergh sent a long ball from FCD's side of the pitch.
Even with D.C. defender Julius James and goalkeeper Josh Wicks rushing in to deny the opportunity, Cunningham still managed to get off a lob, which landed in the back of the net. After the goal, he leapt into the stands to celebrate with some fans in the southeast corner of the stadium.
Two minutes later, Cunningham nearly added another after the ball fell to his feet near the top of the box. However, with a United player rushing in, his shot caromed off the left post and away from danger.
Neither side was able to mount much offense in the early stages. FCD's first chance came in the ninth minute when newly acquired defender Ugo Ihemelu connected with David Ferreira. However, Ferreira's shot was right at Wicks, who came up with the easy save at close range.
In the 13th minute, Red-and-Black rookies Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace displayed some great combination play that nearly led to Wallace's third goal of the year. After a great feed from Pontius, Wallace's attempt at slotting the ball into the far side of the net from 15 yards out went wide right.
FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman made two changes to his First XI from Dallas' last game, a 3-2 loss at New York on August 23. Captain Pablo Ricchetti moved from center back to the holding midfield spot while rookie George John took Richetti's spot in the back. Hyndman's other change was sending Brek Shea to the bench with Dave van den Bergh moving back to left midfield.
Hyndman had to go to his bench a bit prematurely in the 30th minute when Kyle Davies left the game with a concussion. Daniel Torres replaced Davies in the FC Dallas linuep. United head coach Tom Soehn also made a change in the first half when Jaime Moreno entered for Devon McTavish in the 42nd minute.
D.C.'s next chance came off a free kick from about 25 yards out in the 31st minute. Marc Burch struck it perfectly, but Sala was well positioned for the save. McTavish dashed in to put away the ensuing rebound, but his attempt went wide left.
Burch's second free kick came 10 minutes later from similar distance, and Sala again denied. Once again, the ball popped free on a rebound, but this time, there were no United players in the vicinity to threaten.
However, about a minute before the break, the third time was indeed the charm for Burch. He struck another great free kick, this one from about 38 yards. The ball struck Ricchetti's right foot and landed just inside the right post to draw things level at one goal apiece.
Neither coach made any changes to start the second half. The visitors had the first scoring chance of the final 45 minutes when, two minutes in, Wallace had a shot deflected over the touchline following a nice sequence from Moreno and Fred.
Ferreira put FCD ahead, 2-1, in the 50th minute after getting an edge on James to put the ball into the back of the net. The play started when van den Bergh beat D.C.'s Brian Namoff to the ball and was able to spot his teammate streaking down the middle of the box. It was Ferreira's fifth goal of the year.
Things got interesting in the 56th minute when Torres was sent off for tackling D.C.'s Santino Quaranta inside the box. FC Dallas players argued that Torres never made contact with the United midfielder, but referee Ricardo Salazar saw enough contact to eject the Dallas defender.
After things had calmed down, Moreno stepped up to the spot for the penalty kick. As he has done countless times before in his storied career, Moreno converted, sending the ball into the right side of the net to level things once again.
In the 63rd minute, Burch had yet another shot at converting a free kick, this time from about 33 yards. Once again, he was on target but Sala again denied the chance, producing a rebound. However, that carom quickly scooted away from goal.
Both coaches went to their benches with about 15 minutes left. In the 73rd, Hyndman brought on Shea for van den Bergh, and in the 75th, the FCD coach used his final substitution of the night on Blake Wagner, who entered for John. Soehn's second change, Luciano Emilio for Ben Olsen, signaled a shift by the Red and Black into a 3-5-2 formation. In the 86th, Andrew Jacobson was Soehn's final sub. He came on for Pontius.
Right after Jacobson came on, United got another chance at breaking the deadlock. Quaranta hit a rocket from the right flank that Sala managed to get a hand on to send it over the end line. D.C. was unable to generate any further opportunities off the corner that followed.
Each side returns to play next weekend, with D.C. facing Seattle at RFK Stadium next Saturday and FCD traveling to face the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center, also next Saturday.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
D.C. United (7-5-12) vs. FC Dallas (6-11-6)
September 05, 2009 -- Pizza Hut Park
Scoring Summary:
DAL -- Jeff Cunningham 10 (Dave van den Bergh 7) 18
DC -- Marc Burch 1 (unassisted) 44
DAL -- David Ferreira 5 (Dave van den Bergh 8, Jeff Cunningham 5) 50
DC -- Jaime Moreno 7 (penalty kick) 58
D.C. United -- Josh Wicks, Bryan Namoff, Julius James, Marc Burch, Rodney Wallace, Devon McTavish (Jaime Moreno 42), Ben Olsen (Luciano Emilio 76), Clyde Simms, Fred, Chris Pontius (Andrew Jacobson 86), Santino Quaranta
Substitutes Not Used: Christian Gomez, Avery John, Milos Kocic, Tiyiselani Shipalane
FC Dallas -- Dario Sala, Ugo Ihemelu, Kyle Davies (Daniel Torres 30), George John (Blake Wagner 76), Jair Benitez, Atiba Harris, Dax McCarty, Pablo Ricchetti, Dave van den Bergh (Brek Shea 73), Jeff Cunningham, David Ferreira
Substitutes Not Used: Eric Avila, Ray Burse, Marvin Chavez, Andre Rocha
| FC Dallas | D.C. United | |
|---|---|---|
| total shots: | 13 (Jeff Cunningham 5) | 15 (Marc Burch 5) |
| shots on goal: | 5 (Jeff Cunningham 2, David Ferreira 2) | 7 (Marc Burch 4) |
| fouls: | 10 (George John 3) | 9 (Rodney Wallace 3) |
| offsides: | 2 (David Ferreira 1, Atiba Harris 1) | 5 (Santino Quaranta 3) |
| corner kicks: | 7 (Dave van den Bergh 6) | 5 (Santino Quaranta 3) |
| saves: | 5 (Dario Sala 5) | 3 (Josh Wicks 3) |
Misconduct Summary:
DC -- Devon McTavish (caution; Reckless Foul) 35
DAL -- Daniel Torres (ejection; Denied Goal Scoring Opportunity (Foul)) 57
DAL -- Dave van den Bergh (caution; Dissent) 62
DC -- Marc Burch (caution; Reckless Tackle) 70
DAL -- Dax McCarty (caution; Reckless Tackle) 77
DC -- Fred (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 93+
DAL -- Jair Benitez (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 93+
referee: Ricardo Salazar
Referee's Assistants: George Gansner; Steven Taylor
4th official: Landis Wiley
time of game: 1:55
attendance: 10,219
weather: Clear -and- 89 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
