D.C. United survived playing a man down for the final 17 minutes and earned a much-needed point in the race for the MLS Cup Playoffs in a 0-0 tie against the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on Sunday evening. With the draw, United remains just two points out of the two available wild card spots with two games left to play.
The tie extends United's winless streak in MLS play to seven games, with the team's last league victory coming in a 3-0 win against the Colorado Rapids on Aug. 23.
Missing seven players due to injury, including leading scorer Luciano Emilio, a depleted United squad used physical defense and outstanding play by goalkeeper Louis Crayton to keep the MLS Western Conference leaders at bay. The draw also eliminated any opportunity of the Dynamo to win the Supporters' Shield, the Columbus Crew securing that honor with their draw against Chicago on Sunday.
Both teams struggled to find scoring opportunities in the first half, with United launching only three shots while limiting Dynamo to one.
United's best opportunity of the half came on a free kick by midfielder Marc Burch in the seventh minute. The ball was placed just outside the area on the right side, and Burch took a low shot towards the near post in the hopes of catching Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad unprepared. But the Dynamo 'keeper was ready for it, and made the save.
Crayton was called upon to make only one save in the first half, but made a number of other plays to keep the Dynamo attack away from United's goal.
In the 38th minute, Houston forward Dwayne De Rosario broke away from the United defense and had a clear path to the goal. Crayton sprinted up to meet De Rosario outside the box, sliding to knock the ball away from the attacker's feet before he could take a shot at the goal.
The frustration of both teams came out in the second half, when a total of seven cards were shown by referee Baldomero Toledo. In a 20-minute span between the 53rd and 73rd minutes of the match, Dynamo players De Rosario, Eddie Robinson, Geoff Cameron and Brad Davis drew cards, as did United players Bryan Namoff and Devon McTavish.
Namoff received a yellow card in the 62nd minute for delaying play, and he was ejected after a second yellow in the 73rd minute for a hard tackle on Houston midfielder Brad Davis.
United played the remainder of the match down a man, and didn't launch a single shot in the second half.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Dynamo were able to create only one real scoring opportunity in the second half. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Houston midfielder Corey Ashe sent a cross from the left side in to De Rosario, who was open directly in front of the net. De Rosario's header was aimed low and towards the left post, but Crayton made a diving save to push the attempt outside of the post, ending the threat.
United will next return to RFK Stadium to face the New England Revolution on MLS Primetime Thursday, Oct. 16 (7:30 p.m. ET). Houston Dynamo will next face the San Jose Earthquakes in Houston on Wednesday, Oct. 15 (9 p.m. ET).
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
