D2
S
KLMNO
SOCCER
SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010
‘Shell-shocked’ D.C. United breaks down, falls to 0-3
Perkins takes the blame in loss to expansion Philadelphia club
By Steven Goff
philadelphia — D.C. United’s perplexing season had finally be- gun to turn Saturday, a two-goal deficit erased in a five-minute span of the second half on a su- perb strike by Santino Quaranta and a fortuitous goal by Jaime Moreno. “When we got the second
[goal],” Coach Curt Onalfo said, “I thought we were going to win the game and, at a minimum, walk out of here with a point” for a tie. Instead, United broke down again and was saddled with a 3-2 loss to the expansion Philadelphia Union, which made its home de- but at Lincoln Financial Field in front of a crowd of 34,780 people, including Vice President Biden. After United defender Dejan
Jakovic received a red card, Se- bastien Le Toux completed a hat trick with a 22-yard free kick in the 80th minute. Two weeks ago United (0-3) was undone by early goals. Last week New England did the dam- age in the final 10 minutes. On this evening, problems at the be- ginning and end led to the down- fall. Le Toux scored in the fourth
and 40th minutes for Philadel- phia (1-1), which had a poor show- ing in its inaugural match and didn’t appear to have the attack- ing personnel to endanger Unit- ed.
“We talked all week about
matching their intensity, but we were shell-shocked a little bit,” Quaranta said. “We came out and didn’t play any kind of soccer. I didn’t think they were playing like Barcelona, you know?” United lacked invention and ideas and was starved for pos- session. Its defensive effort was just as worrisome. On the first goal, United goal-
keeper Troy Perkins remained rooted on his goal line as Roger Torres served a cross to the six- yard box, allowing the unmarked Le Toux to snap in a header. “That whole game is my fault,”
Perkins said. “The first goal I am too deep on my line, can’t get to it.”
The situation worsened in the
15th minute when Juan Manuel Pena departed with a strained hamstring. Le Toux doubled the lead by timing his run perfectly to collect Alejandro Moreno’s exqui- site long ball in stride and place a low, 18-yard shot into the far cor- ner. Incapable of creating anything in the run of play, United pro- duced its best threat of the half off a set piece — Danny Allsopp’s
Seitz prepared to punt the ball — an act that unfolds without a hitch thousands of times around the world every weekend. But when Seitz dropped the ball to boot it, he inexplicably stopped his motion. Moreno collected it at the top of the penalty area and scored the easiest of his league- record 132 regular season goals. But United’s fortunes crum-
bled. Jakovic misplayed a bounc- ing ball and fouled Alejandro Mo- reno. Referee Terry Vaughn ruled that Jakovic had prevented a clear run at the goal and ejected the D.C. defender. “I grabbed him and he hooked me and fell down right away, very easily,” Jakovic said. Le Toux tagged the ensuing free kick into the left corner, a goal that Perkins took responsibility for, saying, “I am too far over on one side.”
United notes: Union Coach Pe-
ter Nowak, the former D.C. United coach and a native of Poland, watched the match from a private box because he didn’t feel it would be appropriate to be on the side- line in the wake of the plane crash in Russia that killed many Polish government officials. Among the victims was Piotr Nurowski, head of the Olympic committee and Nowak’s longtime friend. “When the whole country is mourning, there is only one way to pay respect, and it’s not to be on the sideline,” he said before the game.
CHIVAS USA 2, NEW YORK 0:
The Goats scored their first two goals of the season while shutting out Red Bull New York at Home Depot Center. New York goalie Bouna Coundoul had an own goal before Jesus Padilla scored during the 91st minute.
BARCELONA 2, REAL MADRID
0: Barcelona took a three-point lead atop the Spanish league fol- lowing a record fourth straight win over its closest rival. Lionel Messi, coming off a four-
goal performance in the Champi- ons League, put the defending champions ahead after 33 min- utes by sending a shot past goal- keeper Iker Casillas for his 40th goal of the season.
FA CUP: Financially troubled
Portsmouth was relegated from the Premier League on the eve of its FA Cup semifinal when West Ham beat Sunderland, 1-0, on Sat- urday. If Portsmouth beats Totten- ham on Sunday, it could end on a high note by beating Chelsea in the final. Chelsea, meanwhile, returned
DREW HALLOWELL/GETTY IMAGES
Philadelphia’s Sebastien Le Toux celebrates one of his three goals against Troy Perkins and D.C. United, who have yet to win this season.
header that missed the near side off Christian Castillo’s corner kick. In desperate need of posses- sion, Onalfo replaced Castillo
with Jaime Moreno at the start of the second half. United was better with the ball yet still lacked men- ace. Perkins prevented a deeper deficit by denying Le Toux’s bid.
In the 63rd minute, Quaranta’s high pressure resulted in a Union giveaway. Exuding confidence and composure, Quaranta lashed a 25-yard shot past diving goal-
keeper Chris Seitz and into the lower right corner. Seitz’s night took a horribly comical turn seven minutes later. With Moreno shadowing him,
Freedom looks less than its best in opener against Breakers
by Paul Tenorio
It wasn’t until late last season when the Washington Freedom began to click offensively, mostly behind a finally-healthy Abby Wambach, who had worked back to full form after suffering a bro- ken leg.
On Saturday evening in the opener of the second season of Women’s Professional Soccer, the Freedom again showed some ear- ly-season rust in the attacking third and had two crucial defen- sive breakdowns as it fell to the Boston Breakers, 2-1, in front of 3,899 at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds.
Playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation
with Wambach up top, Washing- ton (0-1) struggled to put it all to- gether in the attack — missing the final pass or failing to cap a strong build-up with a quality shot. The Freedom’s best chances came in the final five minutes as it pushed forward more, and Allie
Long finished a volley in the 87th minute after Cat Whitehill’s long ball was headed back by Wam- bach to the foot of Long. “Usually you want to start to hone your system defensively first and then the offense and the attacking third comes last,” Wam- bach said. “Getting everyone on the same page offensively is the
DIGEST
PRO FOOTBALL
Report says Roethlisberger won’t be charged
Pittsburgh Steelers quarter-
back Ben Roethlisberger will
not face criminal charges related to an allegation by a college stu- dent that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her last month at a Mil- ledgeville, Ga., nightclub, ESPN reported Friday.
Frederic D. Bright, the district
attorney who is handling the case, will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. Monday. The Milledgeville police and
the Georgia Bureau of Investiga- tion completed their investiga- tion and turned over the case to Bright’s office this week. Roethlisberger’s attorney, Ed- ward Garland, has said that Roethlisberger is innocent of any crime.
— Mark Maske
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Marshall has hired Tom Her-
rion as its coach. The former Pittsburgh Panthers associate head coach was given a five-year contract. The financial terms we- ren’t immediately released. He replaces Donnie Jones, who left last month to become Central Florida’s coach. Herrion, 42, spent three sea- sons on Jamie Dixon’s staff. Be- fore going to Pittsburgh, Herrion went 80-38 in four seasons at the
College of Charleston. He also spent eight years on Pete Gillen’s staffs at Providence and Virginia.
HOCKEY
The Ottawa Senators will make their playoff run without veteran forward Alex Kovalev who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a loss to Tam- pa Bay on Thursday. The 37-year- old Russian will likely have sur- gery in two weeks. Kovalev has 18 goals and 31 assists in 77 games.
MISC.
In the UFC’s first show in the
Middle East and its first out- doors, heavy underdog Frankie Edgar won a unanimous decision over BJ Penn to claim the light- weight title at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Anderson Silva also success-
fully defended his middleweight title with a unanimous decision over fellow Brazilian Demian
Maia, and Matt Hughes stopped
veteran Renzo Gracie with 20 seconds left in the third round. The bouts were held in a tem-
porary arena next to a theme park outside the city center of the United Arab Emirates’ capital, with the humidity and heat mak- ing takedowns difficult. . . . Defending champion Chelsea
MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS
Underdog Frankie Edgar, left, won a unanimous decision over BJ Penn in UFC’s first show in the Middle East and first outdoor event.
returned to the FA Cup final with a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa. Financially troubled Ports- mouth was relegated from the Premier League on the eve of its FA Cup semifinal when West Ham beat Sunderland, 1-0. Lionel Messi scored and de- fending champion Barcelona beat Real Madrid, 2-0, to take a three-point lead in the Spanish league race. . . . Will Power won the pole at the
Indy Grand Prix of Alabama with a speed of 118.057 mph. Penske
Racing teammate Helio Castro-
neves (117.186) was third behind Mike Conway (117.197). . . .
Stately Victor stunned the
field at the Blue Grass Stakes, surging to the front in the stretch then pulling away to beat Paddy
O’Prado by 41
⁄4
lengths and se-
cure an unlikely spot in next month’s Kentucky Derby. . . . Hall of Fame boxing referee Ar- thur Mercante, the third man in the ring for the first Ali-Frazier fight and more than a hundred other world title bouts, has died. He was 90. Mercante died Satur- day at his home in Westbury, said
Edward Brophy, executive direc-
tor of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
— From news services
TELEVISION AND RADIO
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
1 p.m.
1:30 p.m.
1:30 p.m. 2 p.m. 8 p.m.
HOCKEY
Noon
Washington at New York Mets » MASN, WDCW (Channel 50), WFED (820 AM, 1500 AM)
Toronto at Baltimore » MASN2, WJZ (105.7 FM), WTNT (570 AM), WXTR (730 AM)
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most difficult thing to do. So yeah, I think throughout the course of the season we’re going to get better at it.” The Breakers (1-0) took the lead in the sixth minute of the match when the Freedom failed to close down a short corner. That allowed veteran Kristine Lilly to take a touch and cross to the far
to the FA Cup final by shutting out Aston Villa, 3-0. Didier Drogba scored on a ball from John Terry in the 68th minute and Florent Malouda side-footed home a right-wing cross from Michael Ballack in the 89th. Frank Lam- pard knocked in the third in in- jury time.
—Associated Press
post, and the ball skipped through several defenders and was finished from just a few yards out by forward Lauren Che- ney.
Boston doubled its lead in the
19th minute, with Lilly again sparking the attack. She lofted a ball perfectly over the head of Whitehill that dropped to England star Kelly Smith, and Smith pivoted around and placed the ball to the far post.
tenoriop@washpost.com
Boston at Washington » WRC (Channel 4), WBAL (Channel 11), WJFK (106.7 FM), WVIE (1370 AM)
PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
1 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
SOCCER
10 a.m.
Orlando at Cleveland » WJLA (Channel 7), WMAR (Channel 2) Portland at Los Angeles Lakers » WJLA (Channel 7), WMAR (Channel 2)
English Premier League, Fulham at Liverpool » ESPN2
MEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE
Noon
GOLF
2 p.m.
Notre Dame at Georgetown » ESPNU
PGA Tour, the Masters » WUSA (Channel 9), WJZ (Channel 13), WWXT (92.7 FM), WWXX (94.3 FM), WTEM (980 AM)
AUTO RACING
8 p.m.
BOWLING
1 p.m.
NHRA, Spring Nationals » ESPN2
PBA Experience Showdown » ESPN
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