D.C. United fans, step away from the ledge. For now.

The black and red ground out its first point of the season Saturday night in a hard-fought 0-0 draw on the road in Vancouver.

D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen again tinkered with his starting lineup—using newcomer Nick DeLeon in place of Chris Pontius, replacing Andy Najar with Danny Cruz and giving Emiliano Dudar his first start in place of an injured Dejan Jakovic. Olsen also paired Maicon Santos and Hamdi Salihi up top, dropping Dwayne DeRosario into an attacking midfield role.

The changes paid dividends. DeLeon looked threatening throughout his shift, Dudar anchored a back line that held Vancouver without a shot on goal and Salihi nearly put the Whitecaps away in the second half.

“The fight was there and at times it was pretty good too, [almost] lucky enough to get out of there with three [points],” said Olsen after the match. “But at this point we’ll take one on the road. The point’s big, but what I’m happy about is the way we played.”

D.C. United still has its share of question marks—Maicon Santos doesn’t look like a permanent solution up top. Daniel Woolard looked outclassed. Brandon McDonald had some positive moments, but also failed to maintain composure in the back, relying too heavily on long clearances and failing to maintain possession. And then there’s the issue of Branko Boskovic, who has yet to make any real impact in any of his appearances this year.

Still, the team seemed relieved to get their first point. “It’s huge; it’s a lift of confidence,” said DeRosario. “Offensively I think we created some pretty decent chances, just that final ball once we clean that up I think we’ll be fine. It’s a point that I think we can walk out of here and keep our heads high and I look forward to next game at home.”

Team Notes D.C. United returns to action on Friday, hosting FC Dallas at RFK….Supplemental draft pick Lance Rozeboom suffered a torn ACL in training on Tuesday. The team has yet to release a potential recovery date….Bill Hamid and Perry Kitchen continue to be away on national team duty, with both players going the distance in Olympic qualifiers against Cuba and Canada.