United Tripped Up By Revolution

This synchronous play allowed United to take a 1-0 lead. Their goal was initialized by Ben Olsen, who rewarded defender Bryan Namoff's overlapping run with a well placed through-ball. Namoff converted Olsen's ball by whipping a cross into the middle of the box and onto Jaime Moreno's feet. By accident or design, the ball squirted to Moreno's left and onto the path of Gomez, who calmly put the ball into the back of the net.

United's defense looked as composed as their offense for much of the first half. They paid particularly close attention to Revs superstar Clint Dempsey, whose deadly moves and creative playmaking skills were quashed by a swarm of defenders. At least until the 34th minute. Dempsey proved his legitmacy as the U.S.'s newly crowned Player of the Year when he stepped in front of a pass intended for Taylor Twellman and flicked it with absolute precision. His first touch had the perfect amount of pace, height, and backspin to split United's defense, while allowing to him to rush past the back line and slot a shot past Troy Perkins.

Dempsey's goal invigorated New England, but United were able to retain their offensive pressure. In the 39th minute, D.C. beat Reis on 2 occasions, but each time were denied by New England defenders who cleared the ball at the mouth of the goal. The Revs stepped up their attack at the end of the first half, but thanks to a sliding tackle by Ben Olsen, were duly thwarted.

Sensing a weakness in United's defense, the Revolution applied the same intensive pressure coming out of the gates in the second half. This time, United were unable to stop them. Twellman scored his 75th goal of his career, becoming the youngest player in MLS history to reach the milestone, when he headed home a corner kick into the top of the net.

At this point, United looked perilously lost on offense, struggling to stay organized and maintain possession. Nowak inserted Alecko Eskandarian and Stephen deRoux onto the field in the 61st minute, to mixed results. Eskandarian appeared to energize the United offense immediately, firing off several promising shots while displaying his trademark grit and swagger. DeRoux, on the other hand, was largely ineffective. Though he was able launch his 5'9" frame into the air and drive a header over the net off of a corner kick, his defense was atrocious; New England's wings were able to run past him and place crosses into United's penalty box at will.

Though deRoux's play on the left side of the defense was reprehensible, Freddy Adu's defense on the right flank was just as porous, as he was repeatedly beaten by the Revs' imposing Khano Smith (6'3"). The Revs' chances did not lead to any goals, but should have, as they failed to convert a multitude of headers into the open net.

When the game concluded in the 93rd minute, United was left frustrated. For them, it would be easy to blame the officiating, as the referee was reluctant to call even the most obvious of fouls, leading to increasingly dangerous play and culminating in a missed penalty call when Smith tripped Adu in the New England box.

However, with the playoffs looming, United would do well to look inward. Their defensive ineptitude in the second half led to myriad opportunites for New England. After a promising start, their offense lost its timing. United players would fire the most speculative of shots, and then, on the next chance, make one pass too many before looking toward the net.

Worst of all was United's wretched execution of corner kicks. Although they took a whopping 11 sets from the corner, United looked completely hopeless on most of them. Direct kicks met the first New England defender. Indirect takes sailed over everything or into the hands of Reis. United were so inept, they've effectively removed the phrase "winning a corner" from their soccer lexicon.

At the end of the day, United were saddled with a deserved loss and yet another poor result in a string of ugly play. Though the game meant absolutely nothing in terms of league standings or playoff position, you can bet that this loss hurt just as bad as one with more tangible stakes.