Blame the heat if you must, but D.C. United certainly wilted last night. The club’s woes inside RFK Stadium continued, as they dropped a painful 1-0 decision to New England.

United was not lacking for chances to take the game by the scruff of the neck; in fact, the team’s urgency and effort was definitely there, even with the oppressive conditions inside the stadium. But between Revolution keeper Matt Reis’ saves and Charlie Davies’ inability to keep a penalty kick at the conclusion of the first half on target, such efforts didn’t lead to a goal. And eventually, New England defensive midfielder Stephen McCarthy’s glancing header in the 73rd minute erased all the hard work, leaving the 15,597 who braved the heat alongside the team disappointed.

After the game, United head coach Ben Olsen called the loss “a tough one to take.” That seemed especially true for Davies, who hasn’t scored in four matches and missed his first penalty kick of the year. Davies had previously made four from the spot this season.

It certainly wasn’t the greatest start to a weaker-on-paper stretch of the schedule, during which United will need to pick up as many points as possible in order to return to the playoffs. (To wit: the victory was New England’s first away from home this year.) With the defeat, United now sits at 5-6-8 — with only two wins coming inside the normally fortress-like RFK — and an improvement in home form will be vital if they want play past the end of the regular season.

There’s no rest for the weary — United will play their third game in a week on Saturday against English side Everton, a match where temperatures are forecasted to breach 100 degrees again.