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Posted on Sat, Oct. 24, 2009 09:54 PM
Wizards finish season with 2-2 tie against D.C. United
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This was a tie nobody could like.
The Wizards, playing the season finale of a disappointing year, tied D.C.United 2-2 on Saturday night in front of 10,385 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
For the Wizards, 8-13-9, the tie meant they finished the season 0-2-3 and failed to win a match since Sept. 19.
For D.C. United, 9-8-13, the tie effectively eliminated its chances of reaching the Major League Soccer playoffs.
The Wizards tied the game when Claudio Lopez drilled a penalty kick in the second minute of stoppage time after D.C United’s Fred was given a red card for a handball on the goal line on a shot by Roger Espinoza.
United, which still can qualify for the playoffs if two other teams play to draws on this final weekend of the season, scored twice in a 15-minute span in the second half for the victory.
D.C. United’s Julius James’ header in the 82nd minute off a ball Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was trying to punch out of danger gave D.C. a 2-1 proved to be the difference. D.C. United had tied the game in the 67th minute on a penalty kick by Jaime Moreno.
The Wizards, who will miss the playoffs for the first time in three years, led 1-0 at halftime on a header by Kei Kamara. Graham Zusi, from about 25 feet out, sent in a free kick to Kamara, who had a step on D.C. United defender Rodney Wallace six feet in front of the goal and headed it past United goalkeeper Steve Cronin.
The goal, in the 29th minute, was Kamara’s sixth of the season but his first since joining the Wizards in a trade with Houston on Sept. 15. And the assist was the first of the season by Zusi, who was making his fifth start.
The Wizards were 6-0 when leading at halftime and 8-0-3 when scoring the first goal, but those stats did not stand up on Saturday night.
Moreno’s penalty kick was created when Fred backed into Wizards defender Matt Marquess and went down in a heap, drawing the penalty from referee Ricardo Salazar.
Marquess, making his first appearance of the season in place of injured Jimmy Conrad, also was given a yellow card.
Posted on Sat, Oct. 24, 2009 09:54 PM
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