Returning home after three winless matches on the road, D.C. United came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night, riding a first-half goal by Chris Pontius and a late penalty kick by Chris Rolfe to extend their unbeaten streak at RFK Stadium to 19 games.
The streak ties a franchise record, and the Black and Red haven’t lost on their own pitch since the Seattle Sounders beat them 1-0 on June 28, 2014.
Nonetheless, home-field advantage couldn’t prevent United from making things difficult for themselves by surrendering a very early goal, just as they did in last Wednesday’s loss in Portland. In the fifth minute, defender Steve Birnbaum (in his second match back from injury) carelessly gave the ball away in his own penalty area to the Union’s Andrew Wenger, who touched it over to Sebastien Le Toux for a finishing strike from 12 yards. Philadelphia threatened to double their lead three minutes later, when Fernando Aristeguieta was able to head Marcus Maidano’s cross onto goal, though right into the hands of D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid.
From there, United gradually worked their way back into the match. They controlled possession for much of the remainder of the first half, but couldn’t find the final ball despite some patient buildups in the midfield (the creativity of injured attackers Fabian Espindola and Luis Silva was certainly missed). In the 33rd minute, Birnbaum nearly atoned for his earlier mistake by out-jumping Maurice Edu to get his head on a well-placed corner kick from Taylor Kemp. Union keeper Brian Sylvestre was completely frozen and had no chance for a save, but Birnbaum’s header was cleared off the line by an alert reaction from Fabinho.
After surviving several quick-hitting counterattacks from the Union, United finally broke through during the opening minute of first-half stoppage time. Kemp, who was consistently effective coming forward on the left wing throughout his shift, got the ball with plenty of time and space to operate along that flank. He whipped a gorgeous left-footed cross into the middle of the penalty area, where Pontius deftly headed the ball into the back of the net over a pair of defenders and just past the fingertips of Sylvestre.
The two sides parried back and forth during the increasingly chippy second half. Hamid came up big in the 61st minute with a reflex save of a skillful Aristeguieta volley from the six-yard line. Moments later, Rolfe was fortunate not to receive a disciplinary card for kicking Vincent Nogueira after suffering a foul from the Union midfielder. Pontius escaped with just a yellow card in the 64th minute when he took down Le Toux at the edge of the penalty area, possibly denying the Union a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The referee would again become a factor during the match’s decisive sequence. In the 84th minute, the Union’s Zach Pfeffer was called for a handball after a pass from United’s Chris Korb struck him on his (slightly extended) right arm as he was defending Rolfe in the penalty area. Despite protests from the Union, a penalty kick was awarded, which Rolfe confidently drilled into the bottom-left corner of the goal to put D.C. up 2-1. With the crowd of 16,284 erupting in exuberant cheers (minus the small but spirited Philly contingent), United salted away the final minutes to make that score hold up.
With the win, United (7-3-4) briefly seized first place in the MLS standings, though Seattle reclaimed the top spot by defeating the New York Red Bulls on Sunday. D.C. still sits atop the Eastern Conference with 25 points, four points clear of the New England Revolution. Currently in the midst of a busy stretch in which they play five matches in 15 days, the Black and Red return to action on Wednesday night, when they will face the Chicago Fire at RFK Stadium.
Notes: Kemp suffered an apparent groin injury during the match, and was subbed off for Chris Korb during the 73rd minute … Rolfe leads United with four goals this season, and Kemp has a team-high four assists … After training with the club on Friday, 17-year-old Make-A-Wish Foundation recipient Francis Wesley warmed up with United players on Saturday, was introduced with the starters during pre-game festivities, and sat next to the team bench during the match. Wesley, a student at Rockville’s Richard Montgomery High School, is battling the blood cancer Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.
