Moreno Nets Two; United Earns Deserved Victory, 2-1
Sometimes, in football as in life, it's just not your night. But even when that's the case, a team can ride out the storm and still take the three points. And so it was last night: the Black-and-Red overcame a frustrating first half by leaning on the back of captain Jaime Moreno, whose silky second-half brace led them to a 2-1 victory over a less-than-stellar FC Dallas team.
As Ben Olsen succinctly put it: "This ain't my first rodeo with Jaime Moreno. You just never count him out."
The game was an appropriate enough display on an evening when Moreno was honored for being the first player in MLS history to record 100 goals and 100 assists. Moreno looked prime from the get go -- proving that while he might have the experience of a 35 year old, he's still got the touch, finishing ability, and class of someone ten years younger.
"It doesn't happen very often; those moments are special," Moreno said after his 17th career multi-goal game. "My goal is to maintain that level."
Moreno was far from the team's only contributor on the evening. Add Milos Kocik to the long list of rookies who have played a vital part in the opening salvo to D.C. United's 2009 season. The 23-year-old Serbian-born keeper -- who recorded 29 shutouts in his last two seasons at Loyola (MD), and had an undefeated record in 2008 -- made several key efforts in the last fifteen minutes to preserve the victory, his second over Dallas in two weeks.
"It was like a boxing match tonight," Kocic said of the game, and the season-at-large. "It's a fight every single day. The coaches are making a decision before every game and you have to be ready."
It all wasn't easy going for Kocic -- "I thought he got fouled a couple of times. I don't think [the referees] gave him enough respect," said coach Tom Soehn -- and he almost gifted Dallas a goal in the seventh minute, after his attempted clearance went straight into the legs of Cooper. But, for the most part, he was a solid replacement for usual first-team keeper Louis Crayton, who had the night off.
FC Dallas, a club that a mostly-reserve group of United players dispatched last week to advance in the U.S. Open Cup, only retained five starters from that Cup squad which lost 2-0 to D.C. that evening. The biggest difference? U.S. international striker Kenny Cooper, who had scored twice against D.C. in four career games, but whose size in the center of the pitch makes him a valuable commodity on set plays. United might have been counting their lucky stars that forward Jeff Cunningham -- who between nearly 300 career games and stints in Dallas, Toronto, Salt Lake, Columbus, and Colorado -- had lit up United for eight goals and three assists, even by only starting 13 of the 26 games in which he had appeared. But apart from some missed marking on a 28th minute corner from Dave van dan Burgh which led to Andre Rocha's headed goal, the United back line didn't allow Dallas many highlights.
United's first half was a display of wonderful attacking football that, on another night, could have produced half a dozen goals. United's pressure from the opening whistle was strong and a slight rain before kickoff allowed them to fire passes along the slick grass. Ben Olsen looked especially sharp from the onset, kickstarting a flowing move down the left flank with Santino Quaranta and Rodney Wallace in the first 90 seconds. Moreno, then, severely tested Dallas keeper Ray Burse by cutting back into the penalty box, forcing Burse into a nice diving save.
It would not be the last activity for Burse, who probably got his best workout of the season in goal. It was deja vu all half, as a series of three shots from Moreno, Chris Pontius, and Quaranta all beat Burse to his right -- but unfortunately also beat the post, just wide. Moreno also beat Burse to his left, but was denied by the goalie's best friends, a rattling post and a last ditch block. Dallas' back line went through about three genies worth of wishes in the first half just to get into the dressing room with a clean sheet.
One would excuse a modicum of frustration at the interval from the team. But it wasn't so, according to Soehn.
"We need to relax, we're going to get plenty more chances, and all it takes it getting one to get it going," Soehn said when asked what his message was at the half.
And they soon got that one, as the captain finally broke through. After a lovely longball from Bryan Namoff -- "something we've been working on more in training," according to the Namoff -- found Moreno's boots, the Bolivian provided a clinical finish to level the match. Soon after coming on the field for Olsen in the 58th, Christian Gomez provided a lovely through ball to Moreno, and he calmly chipped over Burse for his second on the night and on the season -- it was like 2004 all over again, as RFK exploded. After working such a productive shift, Moreno exited to thunderous applause from the crowd of 14,225, now on the scoresheet, obviously hungry for more.
With the win, United now occupies first place in the Eastern Conference on goal differential over Toronto FC, with a game in hand. Their next match is on the road against Kansas City on Wednesday.