Hamid with the thrilling PK saves and Boskovic with the ultimate winning goal.
Unused substitutes: Brettschneider, Morsink, Simms, Shanoksy, Willis
PHILADELPHIA UNION: Mondragon (C), Harvey, Valdes, Califf, Williams (Mwanga 73′), Nakazawa, Carroll, M. Farfan, Daniel (Roger Torres 66′), Le Toux, Ruiz (McInerney 80′)
Philadelphia Union – Carlos Ruiz 18′ (Williams)
D.C. United – Josh Wolff 45′ (Ngwenya) | Video
D.C. United – Daniel Woolard 111′
Philadelphia Union – Brian Carroll 118′
Penalty Kicks:
Philadelphia Union – Le Toux – made
D.C. United – Pontius – made
Philadelphia Union – McInerney – miss
D.C. United – Barklage – made
Philadelphia Union – Torres – saved
D.C. United – Najar – made
Philadelphia Union – Nakazawa – made
D.C. Uniited – Boskovic – made
D.C. United – 4, Philadelphia Union 2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
Fred – caution 25′
Carlos Valdes – caution 39′
Dejan Jakovic – caution 70′
Carlos Ruiz – caution 73′
Carlos Valdes – second caution/ejection 86′
Piotr Nowak – ejection 118′
Referee: Andrew Chapin
Assistants: Eric Weisbord, Kevin Klinger
4th official: Michael Donovan
Another Wednesday, another win for the Black and Red.
Superstar rookie Blake Brettschneider scored in the 10th minute on a freekick ball “lofted” from Santino Quaranta.
My oh my! What does this mean for the 2011 season. Our domination of the Carolina Challenge Cup in 2010 brought us misery and dismay in the 2010 regular season. Is this a sign of things to come or is this a new era/ a new begining for our boys. Vamos United!!!
With beer and Frito pie from Hard Times Cafe, in our bellies the WWOW.com crew made our way into the Maryland Soccerplex. FREE PARKING!!!!
With-in minutes of our entry into the ‘Plex, United was well on their way to another WINSDAY!!!!!
Goals from our new Montenegrin signing, Branko Bošković Boyzzz “vuvuzela loving” Khumalo catapulted United into the next round of the US Open Cup.
USOC: D.C. United get some luck, earn semifinal berth
BOYDS, Md. — D.C. United may be struggling in MLS play, but their U.S. Open Cup campaign has been a very different story and they extended their tournament run with an assured 2-0 quarterfinal victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders on Wednesday night.
United were gifted a goal in the first minute of the match and kicked on from there, using crisp possession to outwit the athleticism and intensity of their USL-2 foes. Branko Boskovic and Boyzzz Khumalo chipped in the goals for D.C. on a mellow night at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
D.C. coach Curt Onalfo mixed a number of reserves into the first XI for his team’s third match in six days. Boskovic was given his first United start, pairing with Kurt Morsink in central midfield as Stephen King dropped to right fullback alongside Carey Talley, Barry Rice and left back Devon McTavish, while goalkeeper Bill Hamid made his first appearance in several weeks.
A Harrisburg defensive error handed D.C. a golden opportunity just 45 seconds into the match as center back Jerrit Thayer misplayed a straightforward clearance of McTavish’s through ball, allowing Santino Quaranta to break into the penalty box alone. His cutback to Boskovic set up the Montenegrin with a clear look at goal from 12 yards out and he did not miss, calmly drilling his finish past goalkeeper Danny Cepero to give United a very early lead.
D.C. striker Danny Allsopp beat the City Islanders’ offsides trap seven minutes later and saw his angled shot deflected wide of the net as the Black-and-Red continued to control the proceedings.
Harrisburg midfielder and former Chicago Fire reserve Kai Kasiguran flashed a glancing header just wide in the 12th minute as the visitors finally carved out some space for a promising cross from the left flank. Kasiguran was also the protagonist of his team’s next chance some 14 minutes later, latching on to a poor United clearance and hammering a half-volley just over D.C. netminder Bill Hamid’s crossbar as the USL-2 side began to haul themselves into contention.
In the 33rd minute Harrisburg midfielder J.T. Noone drew a yellow card from referee Hilario Grajeda for stepping on Curt Morsink’s leg after the United midfielder slid in to dispossess him with a hard tackle. But for the most part Grajeda showed remarkable patience despite the hard challenges and hot heads all around him, usually electing to chat with the offending parties rather than produce an abundance of yellow cards.
Given the significance of Thayer’s miscue in the game’s opening moments, Harrisburg coach Bill Becher was surely fuming when his side began the second half with another pivotal blunder. Less than two minutes after the restart, United winger Boyzzz Khumalo broke free down the right flank and sized up a far-post cross for teammate Pablo Hernandez, but mishit his delivery towards the City Islanders’ goal.
Cepero was caught completely off guard and could not recover in time as the ball floated over his head and dropped into the upper left corner of the net for a 2-0 D.C. advantage. To his credit, Khumalo made no attempt to conceal his own surprise at the lucky break, flashing a sheepish grin towards the fans along the near sideline.
Harrisburg kept toiling away, chasing gamely while D.C. pinged the ball around the pitch, but the USL-2 side’s inability to maintain possession kept them from mounting sustained pressure on Hamid’s goal. Their frustration finally erupted in the 75th minute when Tyler Ruthven launched himself into a nasty sliding challenge from behind on Khumalo, hacking down the South African and earning himself a straight red card.
With the visitors a man down, the match’s final stages essentially turned into a possession drill for United. McTavish rang an angled shot off the crossbar in the 83rd minute, but Onalfo’s men were content to run down the clock and claim a 2-0 victory that propels them into a semifinal matchup with the Columbus Crew at RFK Stadium on September 1.
WWOW.com’s MOTM is Branko Boscovic, a modest man of few words, he let his actions speak for themselve.
Santino [Quaranta] gave me a good ball and I only put the goal in. He did most of the work.
We at WWOW.com are excited to see what he has to offer in regular league play.
Be prepared United faithful, our next Open Cup match is on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at RFK versus Columbus Crew. Season ticket subscribers can use Special Game E ticket for entry. For those who are not season tickets subscribers, prices will be forth coming…… BE PATIENT…
Hopefully later today we will be able to include a highlight package.
Vamos United!!!!
On Twitter??
WE WIN ON WEDNESDAY is now tweetting!!!! Follow us @WWOWednesday
FREE PARKING is available at the Maryland SoccerPlex for tonight’s US Open Cup match versus the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Game time is 7:30
$20 admission fee (CASH ONLY)
It is your duty, as a United supporter, to brave the wilds of I-270 traffic and cheer (urge) your team on.
Let’s face it, this is United’s ONLY opportunity to do something meaningful this season.
Hardware is in sight, we just need to focus and play strong.
Vamos United! For those arriving early and staying late:
Pre and Post-match parties:
Head over to Hard Times Cafe in Germantown prior to the Open Cup game tomorrow, mention United for D.C. and 20% of sales will go to the team’s charity, United for D.C.!Hard Times Cafe – Germantown
13032 Middlebrook Rd
Germantown MD 20874
The first half was definitely not as sharp as what we had plotted. [We wanted] simple passes, and possession of the midfield, and we felt we should have won more tackles. It just was not a very good performance in the first half. Everyone got after each other and realized, ‘Hey, this team is a USL-2 team’ – they were looking pretty good, they had a lot of energy, and they were excited to play against an MLS team and it showed, and we’re not going to beat this team playing the way we did in the first half. Everybody raised their level, their energy, and their focus and it showed in the second half – the second half was better than the first.
Hope to see everyone Wednesday July 21, 2010 at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, Md. Battle the belt way and I-270 traffic so you can say that you witnessed United win on a Wednesday.
Tickets to United’s quarterfinal match are now available via dcunited.com. Seating is general admission and will be available for $25, while groups of 10 or more can purchase at the $22 price level. All United plan holders may purchase tickets at the $22 price level and should contact D.C. United at 202-587-5000 for additional information.
D.C. United are finding their form, and they have Chris Pontius to thank. Pontius scored three goals for D.C. United, who withstood a furious late rally to emerge from Qwest Field with a 3-2 victory in the last MLS match before the World Cup break.
Pontius benefited from a pair of fortunate events: his first goal deflected in off the back of a Sounders defender; the second went right through goalkeeper Kasey Keller’s hands. His third, which fell in the 79th minute, came in handy.
The three-goal cushion turned out to be just enough against Seattle, who failed to threaten for the majority of the match against a bunkered-in D.C. defense but scored two extremely late goals to threaten the Eagles’ lead.
For D.C., Luciano Emilio displaced Danny Alsopp at striker, paired alongside the dangerous Santino Quaranta. Academy product Andy Najar was in his familiar spot of right midfield, with former Seattle Sounder Stephen King lining up in the center of midfield.
As the half moved on without a goal, D.C. started taking their chances at the offensive end. Emilio and Najar both notched shots on goal, with Kasey Keller making comfortable saves. Perhaps those efforts were a prelude to Pontius’ first goal, which was set up with an excellent shot fake that took two Seattle players out of the picture.
His second came off a mistake from Keller, who mishandled a straightforward shot in the 44th. Keller scrambled backward in a vain attempt to erase the error, but could only escort the ball across the goal line.
If D.C. United sat back with a one-goal lead, they were certain to entrench themselves with double the advantage. Barry Rice came on for an injured Graye early in the second half and was asked to help defend the fortress. With goalkeeper Troy Perkins organizing, United’s defensive discipline in the middle limited Seattle’s chances.
Adam Cristman came on for Emilio, a big body to hold possession as D.C. attempted to kill off the last thirty minutes of the match.
While Seattle did not pressure Perkins often, they made a game of it with two late strikes. First, defender Riley’s shot appeared to take a deflection into the net off Quaranta in the 90th minute. Seconds later, Montero got on the end of a Ljungberg cross for the final margin.
Seattle had one chance to tie the match, but a desperation cross from Evans sailed over all the Seattle strikers in the penalty area.
With the victory, D.C. United head into the break with a 3-8-1 record and move into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, putting a three-point gap between themselves and Philadelphia.
