After scoring a goal just minutes after the kickoff of the second half, D.C. United Women looked in control of their match against the Long Island Rough Riders with a 2-0 lead. In the end it would take some desperate defending and a little luck for United to hold on and escape with a 2-1 home win.
Long Island looked the most likely to score early. Their first chance of the game came in the fifth minute when winger Jen Leaverton drifted away from United left back Megan Watson and down the right side, before centering the ball for forward Brooke DeRosa. DeRosa, who scored one of the Long Island goals in their 2-0 win over United earlier this month, was only able to shoot meekly at United goalkeeper Kerri Butler. United’s answer to that only took six minutes to come, as midfielder Danielle Malagari played a ball over the top of the Long Island defense to forward Christie Welsh. Welsh entered the area and cooly shot over the Krista Thorn, the rushing Long Island goalkeeper, to give United a 1-0 lead. Malagari and Welsh nearly teamed up to tally again in the 24th minute, when Malagari headed a Thorn goal kick to Welsh, but Welsh’s eventual low shot was saved by Thorn. Both Malagari and Welsh would exit after the 38th minute due to lingering injury issues in favor of midfielder Aly Shaughnessy and forward Katie Watson. United took their 1-0 lead to halftime.
The second half was barely underway before United struck again. Forward Amalya Clayton received a Katie Watson pass on the left inside the area and beat Thorn to the far post in the 48th minute. Despite conceding chunks of possession to Long Island at times, United seemed comfortable with their lead. In the 65th minute it was Long Island making things interesting, as a DeRosa cross from the defensive left found Leaverton just yards from goal to score and cut the United lead in half. United should have had a chance to restore their lead just four minutes later, but referee Ron Harnage did not award a penalty kick when Long Island defender Sade Ayinde leaped and landed on Clayton just inside the edge of the area on the right. Clayton fell under Ayinde and United players and coaches appealed, but no penalty came.
The remainder of the match was played mostly in the United defensive half. A 70th minute Shaughnessy giveaway in deep midfield nearly led to a Rough Riders equalizer, but the defense was able to scramble it away. Long Island again nearly equalized in the 81st minute when Ayinde ventured forward, fended off defenders, and hit a sliding shot from 16 yards that beat Butler but hit the post and bounced back into play. United were able to clear. Just a minute later, DeRosa looked to test Butler, but her shot floated just over the bar. As the second half entered stoppage time, Long Island had three or four successive opportunities to shoot in the United area, but all were stopped by United defensive interventions, and Butler was not bothered.
When the final whistle blew, there was some visible relief from United players and coaches. The win is a big one in the W-League Northeast Division standings, which now show United in 3rd place with 11 points behind Long Island and the New Jersey Wildcats who are tied for first (14 points.) United has played one more game than each of those teams, and has two left to play. There is still a chance that United will earn one of the two playoffs spots allotted to the division, but they’ll need help in the way of Long Island or New Jersey dropping points as their seasons wind down. It can be done, but United will also need to take care of their own business in their final two games.
Filed under: DC United Women, USL
