Last night Club America stormed into RFK Stadium intent on claiming a SuperLiga result. Their boisterous contingent of supporters easily outnumbered United fans among the 18,604 in attendance. An early goal from Rod Dyachenko and a team-wide clinic of possession soccer stifled the C.A. attack as well as its supporters.

Coach Tom Soehn knew that an early goal would be important in taking control of the game, and his team's focus on energy and determination paid dividends. United's passing was crisp all night, and it served them well at the start. America began the game using high pressure in hopes of forcing a turnover in the United territory, but the tactic backfired. Wide spaces in the midfield left United with room to orchestrate their attack. Fred and Mark Burch combined to move the ball vertically along the left wing in the beginning stages of the match and continued to do so throughout the game. United created several chances in the opening minutes before Dyachenko put them on the board.

After a series of passes allowed D.C. to work the ball through the midfield, Ben Olsen slung in a looping pass across the box, which found Christian Gomez at the far post. Gomez leaped and headed the ball toward the middle of the box, where Dyachenko one-timed it into the lower left corner of the net with velocity.

Photos by Kyle Gustafson

United were able to maintain their energy for most of the first half, creating several more chances while limiting America possessions though smart passing. The rare America attacks were rendered harmless by United's back line, particularly due to Josh Gros' outstanding defensive effort -- America had only two shots all night, none on net. Brian Carroll, for his part, eliminated his recent turnover troubles and distributed skillfully all game.

The second half played out similar to the first. The game took familiar turn when C.A. defender Oscar Rojas was sent off in the 49th minute for a cleats-up slide tackle on Devon McTavish. Though several missed chances by Luciano Emilio allowed America to stay in the game, United was determined to not allow a facsimile of Wednesday's disappointing equalizer.

Coach Soehn commented after the game, "You use every experience you can to make yourself better... We learned a lot from four days ago." The team's apparent lessons manifested themselves during an absolutely stifling run of possession during the latter stages of the match. America, in preseason form, had no answer for United's skillful touches and distribution, and at times seemed complacent in the face of United's midfield domination.

Soehn also deserves credit for using his substitions wisely. After using only one of his four allotted subs against Monarcas, Soehn made use of all four of his allotments this time around, and the moves paid off as his three defensive-minded insertions (Clyde Simms, Bryan Namoff, and Domenic Mediate) outworked their opponents. Gomez should also be commended for remaining dangerous throughout the game; had Emilio finished off his chances, Gomito could have had three assists on the night.

The win gives United four points in SuperLiga group play. Should they win at Houston on Wednesday, they'll assume leadership of Group B and advance to the knockout stage.