D.C. United erased a first-half deficit to score twice after halftime, including a Luciano Acosta equalizer deep into second-half stoppage time, to rally for a 2-2 draw with the Houston Dynamo at Maryland SoccerPlex on a snowy Saturday afternoon.
A whipped in Yamil Asad free kick was headed around before Acosta got under the ball and fired in first-time off Chris Seitz to cap his first start of 2018.
Darren Mattocks pulled the hosts to within a goal in the 50th minute with his second goal in as many games. The Jamaican forward played the ball wide to Asad, who returned the favor to Mattocks, who took a cut inside to avoid a Leonardo challenge and finished inside the far post.
Alberth Elis continued his hot start to the 2018 season with his second goal in as many games to put the Dynamo in front, 1-0 on the half-hour mark. Elis ran onto a ball headed back to his own goal by Asad, took a touch over a charging David Ousted and slipped into the open net.
One minute later, Houston took advantage of another defensive blunder to make it 2-0 as Elis picked off an errant pass by Frederic Brillant in the defensive third and took a touch into the box The Honduran played a short pass to Mauro Manotas, who tapped in his second goal of the season.
Goals
- 30’ – HOU – Alberth Elis | WATCH
- 31’ – HOU – Mauro Manotas | WATCH
- 50’ – DC – Darren Mattocks | WATCH
- 90’+7’ – DC – Luciano Acosta | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: The first half was marred by a pair of “gross mistakes” as D.C. United coach Ben Olsen said at halftime, but his team showed tremendous resilience to rally for one of those ties that feels like a win.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: A resilient D.C. United rallied for the dramatic equalizer seven minutes into second-half stoppage time. The goal was scored by Acosta with an assist from Brillant, who had a strong response after a defensive miscue gifted Houston a goal in the first half.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Acosta missed the first game of the season to suspension and came off the bench last week because of fitness concerns. He played the entire 90+ minutes Saturday and provided the seminal moment for the hosts, pouncing on the late equalizer.
Next Up
- DC: Saturday, March 24 at Columbus Crew SC (6 pm ET | MLS LIVE; on DAZN in Canada)
- HOU: Saturday, March 31 vs. New England Revolution (8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE; on DAZN in Canada)
