D.C. United Rivalry Week continues on Comcast SportsNet Wednesday night with another classic contest against an original Eastern Conference foe. Since the two sides first met in April of 1996, D.C. and Columbus have usually combined to produce evenly-matched affairs, but that wasn't the case in 2006 when the Black-and-Red went 3-0-1 in four matchups with the Crew.
Tonight’s match - 7:00 PM: D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew (May 31, 2006)
Some big things were happening for D.C. United in late Mayof 2006.
Jaime Moreno sat on the verge of becoming just the secondplayer in MLS history to break the 100-goal mark. Midfielder Ben Olsen was a few days from heading to Germany,where he’d give the Black-and-Red representation on the U.S. World Cup side forthe third consecutive tournament. In the standings United sat five points ahead of second-place KansasCity, well on their way to the first of back-to-back Supporters’ Shieldtitles. Against this impressivebackdrop of momentum, the Columbus Crew traveled to RFK on the last day ofMay.
It was a trip the northern visitors would soon hope toforget.
Moreno found his bit of history on a penalty kick just eightminutes in, the first of five D.C. goals on the day. After his team’s 5-1 victory, Head Coach Peter Nowak offereda rather typical response to the Bolivian’s 100th score.
“I’m glad this happened early,” Nowak said, concerned thatthe chase might distract from United’s larger objectives.
“I don’t think anybody thought I was going to play thislong,” added Moreno, who finished the 2006 season with 11 goals and ten assists.
