On a beautiful Saturday night in the District, D.C. United stepped onto the pitch to face the San Jose Earthquakes. With the Black-and-Red looking to widen the gap between them and the other top teams in the East, they walked onto the field looking for their first win since the beginning of May.
Both sides exchanged shots in the first fifteen minutes, with D.C. United coming within inches of finding the back of the net more than once. As the match went on, Bill Hamid was called upon to make a few saves and the backline saved the day with a couple of critical clearances. But in the end, San Jose found the back of the net first. The ball bounced off the head of Chris Wondolowski in too close of range for Hamid to make the save. San Jose carried their 1-0 lead into the half.
The Black-and-Red came back out onto the pitch ready to score and they tested the San Jose defense early on. San Jose goalkeeper Daniel Vega blocked three rocket shots from the D.C. offense, keeping the scoreline at 1-0. In the 60th minute, there was a brief stop in play after Steve Birnbaum and Florian Jungwirth bashed heads while they were both going for the ball. Jungwirth was recovered, but Birnbaum’s night was over and he was soon replaced by Chris Odoi-Atsem.
D.C. United kept fighting, and shortly after Birnbaum’s exit, were able to find a goal in the 58th minute. Vega blocked a shot from Leonardo Jara, but the ball landed at Luciano Acosta’s feet and he was able to get slot it into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1.
Still, the Black-and-Red were hungry for more. They bombarded the San Jose defense with attack after attack, but couldn’t finish. The game settled into a solid back-and-forth between the two sides, but no one could find the back of the net. Ultimately, D.C. United had to settle for a point at home, with 1-1 being the final scoreline.
MLS will now go on an international break. The Black-and-Red will return to action on Wednesday, June 26th, when they host Orlando City at Audi Field.
