Facing a must win situation against an opponent in preseason form, D.C. United suffered a disappointing 3-2 loss to F.C. Atlante last night. United put forth a solid effort, but was exposed by Atlante F.C.'s efficient counter attack. Atlante's victory relegated United's SuperLiga 2008 hopes to a mere prayer.

The SuperLiga pits four MLS teams against four Mexican clubs. The teams are selected based on their performances in domestic league and tournament play during the previous year. For the Mexican sides, SuperLiga constitutes a tidy warmup for their regular season, which is scheduled to begin in a couple weeks. Though MLS regulations marginalize its players' share of SuperLiga prize money, the competition presents a chance for American clubs to prove their worth against a league that has dominated them for much of MLS's 12-year existence.

United were unable to take advantage of this opportunity, despite a couple of classy finishes from Francis Doe and Luciano Emilio. A pair of miscues by Marc Burch left United's defense flatfooted for a pair of Atlante goals, and a moment of brilliance from midfielder Christian Bermudez provided the visitors with the game-winner.

Though Atlante worked through their preseason rust, United combated the fatigue accrued from a schedule packed with competitions supplementing their regular MLS season. The result was a tentative first twelve minutes, as each side attempted to advance possession without committing a serious mistake.

United disrupted this delicate balance when they pushed too far forward. Burch's misplay of a clearance gave the ball to Gabriel Pereyra, and the United defender compounded his error by attempting a tackle that left him out of position. Pereyra slotted a pass through the United back line, springing Luis Gabriel Rey. The forward scored on an easy finish past goalkeeper Zach Wells.

United leveled the score in the 28th. Jaime Moreno orchestrated the attack from the playmaker's spot. Executing with the perfect dose of urgency, the Bolivian international had several important touches in a sequence which ended with midfielder Craig Thompson's bounding cross and Francis Doe's leaping right-footed finish.

The visitors again rose to the occasion, sapping United's momentum and preying on Burch's faulty defending a minute before halftime. His attempt at an ill-advised tackle gave Giancarlo Maldonado the left flank. As Burch rushed back to recover, Maldonado slipped a cross past him. Rey's second finish was trickier than his first; it required a near post run and a one-touch redirection to the far post. The result was the same: a go-ahead goal for Atlante.

United attempted to reverse their fortunes in the second half, but Bermudez quickly crushed their spirits with a backbreaking goal of sheer magnificence. The midfielder ran at Bryan Namoff, driving him back to edge of the penalty area. He created a few feet of space with a step-over move and unleashed a curling ball toward goal. The shot found the inches of space it needed to fly over Wells' outstretched fingers and into the upper-right hand corner of the net.

Up until the third Atlante goal, United achieved solid, if unspectacular, possession and threatened at times. Bermudez' goal drained the hosts' resolve, leaving them listless and uninspired. Rod Dyachenko came on for Burch and contributed to his team's insipid play with every touch.

Just when it seemed that United would willingly surrender, Moreno and Emilio erased their team's doldrums with a flair. Moreno, seemingly running on fumes at this point, made a courageous run at the defense. He faked toward goal and channeled a ball to Emilio. The striker positioned himself perfectly to receive the pass, shielding defenders with his body before spinning and firing a missile into the right side of the goal.

Only ten minutes remained in regulation, a fact that was not lost on D.C. They now treated every loose ball with the utmost of urgency and pushed forward at breakneck speeds. Atlante had other ideas and the counter-measures to implement them. To run the remaining minutes off the clock, Atlante made four substitutions, delayed restarts, and scuffled with United. This strategy prevented United from achieving any cohesive attacks. Despite the urging of the 12,122 in attendance, the advancing clock won out, and Atlante claimed victory.