CARSON, Calif. – Chivas USA got a much-needed win on Sunday evening, using the eighth goal of the season from striker Justin Braun and just enough defense to hold D.C. United at bay for a 1-0 victory at the Home Depot Center.
The Goats (6-11-4) moved within one point of the Houston Dynamo at the bottom of the Western Conference, while D.C. United (4-15-3) remain five points adrift of their Eastern Conference competition.
The match saw another strong performance from Braun, who continues a breakout season in his third year in the league. The 23-year-old’s latest highlight came in the 13th minute, after teammate Ante Jazic collected a short pass from Marcelo Saragosa at the center circle and turned up field.
The Canadian international lofted a long ball toward the box which looked destined for the head of United’s Barry Rice, until Braun stepped in front and flicked a header that floated over Troy Perkins’ head and into the net for the only goal of the night.
The Goats held the lead thanks to veteran goalkeeper Zach Thornton and an unlucky bounce for DC’s Santino Quaranta who, in the closing minutes of the first half, drilled a line drive from 25 yards that bounced first off the crossbar, then off the Thornton’s leg and out of bounds for a corner kick.
The save of the night belonged to Chivas USA defender Mariano Trujillo who, in the 69th minute, denied D.C. United forward Jaime Moreno a potential equalizer. The MLS original skipped a header off a United corner kick, but the effort was cleared off the line by Trujillo, narrowly thwarting what would have been the 133rd career goal for the league’s all-time leading scorer.
D.C. United looked energized after the insertion of teen phenom Andy Najar in the 57th minute, but struggled to generate any real scoring chances outside of Moreno’s near-miss.
For his part, Braun nearly tallied a second goal on a breakaway chance in the 35th minute and with a long-range chance in the 72nd, but the veteran Perkins was able to snuff out both chances.
Both teams now turn their attention to US Open Cup semifinal matches Wednesday, with Chivas USA traveling to Seattle and DC hosting Columbus. The championship is Oct. 5.
Scoring Summary:
CHV -- Justin Braun 8 (Ante Jazic 1) 13
Lineups:
D.C. United -- Troy Perkins, Jed Zayner (Chris Pontius 78), Barry Rice (Julius James 46), Dejan Jakovic, Jordan Graye, Santino Quaranta, Stephen King, Kurt Morsink, Branko Boskovic, Adam Cristman (Andy Najar 57), Jaime Moreno.
Chivas USA -- Zach Thornton, Mariano Trujillo, Dario Delgado, Michael Umana, Ante Jazic, Rodolfo Espinoza (Michael Lahoud 71), Marcelo Saragosa, Paulo Nagamura, Jonathan Bornstein, Justin Braun (Ben Zemanski 89), Giancarlo Maldonado (Alan Gordon 46).
Misconduct Summary:
DC -- Kurt Morsink (caution; Reckless Tackle) 31
CHV -- Marcelo Saragosa (caution; Reckless Tackle) 72
CHV -- Justin Braun (caution; Reckless Foul) 73
DC -- Andy Najar (caution; Reckless Tackle) 84
Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee's Assistants: Ian Anderson; Chris Strickland
4th Official: Ricardo Salazar
Attendance: 12,517
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Clear-and-67-degrees
