Despite a loss Thursday, D.C. United has strung together a number of incredible wins to claim first place in the Eastern Conference. See the highlights from their best wins below.
1-0 vs. LA Galaxy, 3/28
The game was a tale of big saves on both sides for nearly the duration. United caught a break early in the second half as a Galaxy shot rattled the post, but the match remained scoreless into the dying moments. Then, in the third and final minute of stoppage time, Nick DeLeon’s nifty footwork opened up enough space for a soft flick to the backside of the goal, where Chris Pontius slammed home a diving header for the game’s lone goal.
1-0 @ Orlando City, 4/3
For the second week in a row, D.C. United played a scoreless 90 minutes, despite a host of opportunities for both sides. Bill Hamid put on a first-half clinic in goal, then an insane sequence in the 68th minute saw United get three shots in a row all thwarted, including one off the line by Brek Shea. But once again in stoppage time, United took advantage of the fleeting minutes, with Luis Silva tucking a free kick inside the left post. But D.C. would have to dodge one final bullet in the closing seconds, a similar free kick from Orlando, to the same post, but just wide.
2-1 @ Vancouver Whitecaps, 4/25
D.C. United started a trend against Vancouver that would plague them for much of the season, allowing a goal in the opening minutes of the game to fall into an early deficit. But they would strike back in the ninth minute on a header from Bobby Boswell, and D.C. would go up a man after Matias Laba picked up a second yellow card in the 42nd minute. They would get bailed out by the post once again, and had a couple of good opportunities go lacking before Chris Rolfe fired home the go-ahead goal from the top of the box in the 64th minute. In the end, they would have to survive six minutes of stoppage time to snag three points.
2-1 vs. Orlando City, 5/13
Yes, these are Lego highlights. Anyway, again United would allow an early goal, falling behind 1-0 after 11 minutes and carrying that deficit into the locker room. But strikes from Kofi Opare in the 70th minute and another game-winner from Chris Rolfe in the 79th carried the day to crush Orlando’s spirits once again.
2-1 vs. Philadelphia, 5/30
Another bad start put D.C. United up against it early, down 1-0 after just five minutes of play. Steve Birnbaum nearly equalized with a header off a corner, but the ball was cleared off the line. Then, again, a D.C. opponent rattled the cage but could not extend the lead. Pontius made them pay in the lone stoppage minute of the first half, lining a high header off a deep cross right to the spot over the outstretched keeper, but under the bar. And after a rocket shot by DeLeon was saved in the final 10 minutes, United caught a stroke of fortune with a handball in the box, giving Rolfe a penalty kick. He froze the keeper with a solid shot to the left corner and D.C. pocketed another three points.
2-1 vs. New England Revolution, 6/21
Once again, an opponent stormed into RFK and notched a goal in the first 10 minutes, this time Charlie Davies on a one-timer inside the left post. Hamid kept the score there until the 70th minute, when Fabian Espindola crossed a ball to the back of the net and Chris Rolfe clipped it out of thin air with his right foot to volley it home. And 10 minutes later, Miguel Aguilar drew a penalty just inside the edge of the box, and Rolfe took advantage once again.
3-2 vs. Philadelphia Union, 7/26
Whatever early goal issues United had early in the season became exacerbated with their All-Star goalie Bill Hamid on the shelf after undergoing a couple of minor surgeries. It took just 21 seconds for the Union to score, and doubled the advantage less than three minutes later. It looked like a penalty would again help bail out D.C., but Espindola sailed it over the bar. Just minutes later, though, new acquisition Alvaro Saborio scored to get United on the board before the half. Espindola nearly scored again in the second half, but DeLeon was there to clean up the rebound and level the score. And after being saved by the crossbar, United pushed forward with Espindola finally tallying his goal on a header in the 79th minute, which turned out to be the game-winner.
6-4 vs. Real Salt Lake, 8/1
Another first minute goal, another 2-0 deficit. But D.C. United was not content to simply come back in this game. Instead, they combined with Real Salt Lake for the highest-scoring game in franchise history, a game that included three ties and six goals for the home side, including a pair of highlight-reel strikes from Taylor Kemp and DeLeon.
1-0 @ Montreal Impact, 8/8
Not simply content to rewrite the record books when it comes to high-scoring affairs, United pulled off something no team in MLS had ever done before in Montreal last weekend. This time, D.C. got off to the early start with Rolfe scoring in the 13th minute. But that would be the only shot, on goal or otherwise, that United would manage all night. Meanwhile, Montreal ripped 25 shots, eight of them on the frame, but could not find the back of the net, as United became the first team ever to win with just one shot.
WASHINGTON — Did you watch the big football game last night? No, not that football game — the one that actually mattered.
D.C. United got its first look at New York City FC, the newly minted second franchise in the nation’s biggest market, featuring aging European stars like David Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo. NYCFC flipped United’s season-long script back on the black and red, coming back from a first-half deficit and scoring three second half goals. But despite all that star power, and despite Thursday’s result, NYCFC sits outside the playoff picture looking in, while United continues to lead the Eastern Conference in points.
And they’ve gotten there by winning games in a host of unconventional ways. In fact, nine of their 13 wins have either come in stoppage time or have been come-from-behind victories. So while United will have to wait until next Saturday at RFK to return to their winning ways in MLS, let’s take a look back at the crazy ways they’ve gotten where they are this year.
Flip through the slides above to see highlights from the nine wild victories that have them in position to repeat atop the table in the Eastern Conference.
