D.C. United’s 2016 season began the same way the last one did, as they were eliminated in the quarterfinal stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. At RFK Stadium on Tuesday night, the Black and Red drew 1-1 with Queretaro. But they lost the two-game series by an aggregate score of 3-1, having dropped the first leg 2-0 in Mexico last week.
United came into the fixture fresh off a preseason during which they worked to integrate new players such as Luciano Acosta, Marcelo Sarvas, Patrick Nyarko, and Lamar Neagle while dealing with setbacks such as the departure of midfield stalwart Perry Kitchen and a knee injury that will keep star goalkeeper Bill Hamid out for several months. Queretaro, on the other hand, had the advantage of being in mid-season form, eight games into their campaign in Mexico’s Liga MX (where they sit in the bottom half of the standings).
Whatever hopes the home side had were all but crushed in the 4th minute, when Queretaro’s Edgar Ramirez headed down a ball in front of the 6-yard box to teammate Angel Sepulveda, who one-timed it into the back of the net past wrongfooted United goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. The strike gave the visitors a crucial away goal (the first tiebreaker in the two-leg fixture), taking away the possibility of extra time, and ensuring that the hosts would have to score at least four goals in order to win.
It was a troubling reminder of D.C.’s penchant for conceding early goals, a problem that plagued them throughout last season.
After suffering the initial blow, United meandered through a mostly desultory first half. In the 11th minute, Sarvas created space from 20 yards out and uncorked a right-footed blast that forced a diving save from Queretaro keeper Tiago Volpi. A few other half-chances aside, the Black and Red were unable to do much to unsettle the visitors, their attack often marred by out-of-sync passing.
The second half was a bit of a different story, as United came out of the locker room with renewed determination to make a game of it. Forward Fabian Espindola was at his crafty, creative best early on in the stanza. In the 53rd minute, he dribbled through three defenders and got off a left-footed shot in the middle of the box, only to be denied as Volpi came off his line to make a kick save. Moments later, the Argentine eluded Queretaro’s back line to receive a through ball from Chris Rolfe that he quickly guided toward goal, narrowly missing to the left.
In the 55th minute, Nyarko was brought down as he made a turn into the box, drawing a penalty. Rolfe stepped up to the 12-yard spot, but his effort (which featured an unusually short run-up) was rejected by Volpi, who probably deserved man-of-the-match honors for his eight saves.
Acosta came on in the 59th minute and showed flashes of the playmaking skills that led D.C. to acquire him on loan from Boca Juniors. Rookie midfielder Julian Buescher entered a bit later, and finally got United on the board in the 84th minute as he delivered a right-footed golazo from 30 yards out. It gave the United supporters among the crowd of 10,790 something to cheer about, but it turned out to be all the home side could muster.
After the match, United head coach Ben Olsen was defiant in defeat. “I’d love to play them in another series,” he said. “I think we’re just as good as they are right now.”
Olsen acknowledged that conceding the early goal “changes everything.”
“That’s been a problem with this group,” he stated. “When you dig yourself in these holes, it’s tough to get out of them.”
United now turn their attention to their MLS season-opener, an away match against the star-studded LA Galaxy on Sunday. After another road game in New England, the Black-and-Red will return to RFK on March 20 as they host the Colorado Rapids.
