Pachuca tops TFC for Carlsberg Cup

TORONTO -- BMO Field got its first taste of the Mexican Primera Division and a shootout on Saturday night as Pachuca CF captured the Carlsberg Cup with a 4-3 victory on penalty kicks against Toronto FC.

With the score tied 1-1 after regulation time, penalties were required to decide the prize in the international friendly. The score was tied 3-3 after the initial five shooters, but Toronto's Kevin Harmse hit the left crossbar on his attempt. Mexican striker Edwin Borboa then stepped to the line and fired a strike into the back of the net to clinch the victory.

Toronto coach John Carver promised changes to the starting XI in the wake of his side's disappointing loss to Vancouver last Saturday, and with a Voyageurs Cup match and a game in Chicago coming in the next week, Carver took the opportunity to take a look at some new faces in his lineup. Only four players (Jim Brennan, Rohan Ricketts, Laurent Robert and Greg Sutton) returned from the team that faced the Whitecaps. Nana Attakora-Gyan, Tyler Rosenlund and Abdus Ibrahim made their first-ever starts for the Reds.

After a moribund first half last Saturday against Vancouver, TFC opened up looking much stronger against the Tuzos. In the fifth minute, Ricketts found room on the left wing and fired a cross towards the Pachuca net. Striker Jarrod Smith had to slide to reach the ball before Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero, and the awkward touch sailed over the net.

A few minutes later, Calero was nearly caught unaware on a poorly taken clearance attempt that found him on the edge of the penalty area with the ball in his own territory. Midfielder Paul Aguilar was in position to take the ball before a TFC player could capitalize.

For Pachuca, the exhibition was a good opportunity to test the squad's readiness for their upcoming SuperLiga group matches and the Apertura season opener on July 26. New signings Jose Maria Cardenas and Bruno Marioni were in the starting XI at midfield and striker, respectively.

Marioni nearly opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Pachuca's three-forward alignment was creating problems for Toronto's three-man back line, particularly on the left side against the inexperienced Attakora-Gyan and Tyler Hemming. In the 16th minute, Marioni took a cross from the left and found himself open in front of the Reds net. The Italian striker's shot, however, was a weak one, that bounced outside of the right post.

The Tuzos had another good chance 10 minutes later. Forward Damian Alvarez carried the ball into the Toronto area and passed to fellow striker Christian Gimenez on the right side, who took a quick shot. A sliding tackle by Reds defender Julius James broke up the shot, but the ball stayed in place as James slid by, giving Gimenez another chance. The point-blank shot was stopped by 'keeper Greg Sutton.

The latter half of the first 45 minutes was fairly uneventful, as the Reds seemed to take on a more defensive mindset to aid the beleaguered back line, thus keeping Pachuca at bay. As for the Toronto attack, the new lineup led to some disorganization. Sloppy passing led to turnovers and, in a few occasions, ended promising scoring chances before they could properly develop.

In the 42nd minute, however, TFC nearly scored one of the most unusual goals in their history. Robert sent a long ball from just past midfield towards the Tuzos goal, and the 50-plus-yard shot ended up sailing dangerously close to the top of the net. A surprised Calero had to jump to make sure the ball barely flew over the crossbar. A minute later, Robert was high again, this time on a direct free kick from outside the penalty area.

As the Tuzos exploited a defensive hole in the first half, TFC was able to do the same at the start of the second half. The Reds found room on the right side, with Smith and Ibrahim both taking the ball on long runs down the wing and deep into Pachuca territory. In Smith's case, the striker had to fight with Pachuca defender Julio Manzur for possession and nearly lost the ball, only to recover and manage a middling shot that Calero blocked at close range.

Both teams made liberal substitutions in the first 15 minutes of the second half, and it was substitute Christian Correa (who came into the game for Marioni in the 58th minute) who ended up making an impact for Pachuca. Some excellent ball movement between Alvarez and Correa led to the Pachuca goal in the 60th minute. Correa passed to Alvarez in the middle, and the striker attracted attention from the defenders while Scorer got into position in front of the ball. Alvarez had enough room for another quick pass up to Correa, who fired a hard shot past substitute goalkeeper Brian Edwards.

It was the first goal in a Pachuca uniform for the Brazilian striker, who signed with the team after a stint with Portuguesa of Brazil's Serie A.

The quality of Pachuca's passing was beginning to take its toll on the TFC defenders, but there was no hint that the Reds were losing heart. It took just nine minutes for TFC to respond with the equalizer. With a Robert corner kick in the air, rookie defender James leapt above the fray and headed the ball into the net. The goal was very similar to James' first MLS goal, which was the game-winner in a 2-0 victory against Los Angeles on May 31.

Toronto clogged the area in front of its net to cut off the Tuzos' passing attack, and as a result were able to generate more chances of their own in response. The best chance came in the 83rd minute when Hemming broke loose down the right side and launched a perfect cross to substitute forward Jeff Cunningham. The veteran striker was off target, however, as his shot went left.

Cunningham's shot was the last good chance for either team in the half, which led to Pachuca eventually capturing the shootout victory. It was just the latest addition to the trophy case for the side that has won the last two CONCACAF Champions' Cups, the 2007 SuperLiga, the 2006 South American Copa Sudamericana and five Mexican league titles.

TFC next play on Wednesday at Vancouver's Swangard Stadium against USL-1 side Vancouver Whitecaps in a Nutrilite Canadian Championship match. The Reds lost 1-0 to the Whitecaps last Saturday at BMO Field. Toronto's next MLS game is on Saturday in Chicago.

Pachuca CF plays the USL's Atlanta Silverbacks in a friendly on Wednesday before beginning their SuperLiga group play. Pachuca plays Chivas USA on July 13 in Los Angeles and then the New England Revolution on July 16 at Gillette Stadium.

Hendrickson credits coach for speedy return

COLUMBUS -- The relationship between an injured athlete and the fitness coach trying to get him back on the field can be one of love and hate.

In the case of Columbus Crew defender Ezra Hendrickson, he knows that Steve Tashjian has his best interests in mind, but still, it's often: "Man, do I have to do another sprint?"

"Ezra and I actually have a pretty good relationship," Tashjian said. "I was with him when I was back in LA so he knows which direction I'm going in right when he's ready to jump back in.

"It's a pretty easy process. He knew what was coming. He knows the work rate I want for particular drills and it's really helped him gain fitness a lot quicker than I thought he would."

Hendrickson suffered a left groin sprain early in the June 7 match against New England when he leaped to get at a corner kick. The original diagnosis was a six-week absence but Hendrickson will likely resume full training next Tuesday.

He credits his quicker than expected recovery to Tashjian, who worked with him while both were with the Galaxy in 2002-03, head athletic trainer Jason Mathews and assistant athletic trainer Skylar Richards.

"They've worked really hard with me to get me back this soon," Hendrickson said.

His nickname is EZ but there's been nothing easy about the regiment Tashjian has put him through.

"Being an older guy, an experienced guy, and having worked with him he listens when I tell him we need to back off today. His training can be very strenuous but it's good training. It's very functional," Hendrickson said. "It's good working with him. Knowing him from the past we listen to each other. I tell him when my body has had enough, like today. We were scheduled to do a lot more than we did but my hamstrings and my groin hurt too much so we backed off. I've been working with Steve a lot at the end of practices to simulate games where we do some sprint stuff. I'm coming back within the next week or so."

That will be good news for the Crew who have yet to find a suitable replacement for Hendrickson at left back. Rookie Ryan Junge started two matches and Danny O'Rourke made his debut there last week.

"Nothing we've thrown at (Hendrickson) him is bothering him so that's good," Tashjian said after Thursday's practice. "Besides the normal soreness for a guy who hasn't been in full training, we're more than happy with the way he feels today."

It has been a busy first half of the season for the training staff with eight to 10 players nursing injuries at a time, not including the season-ending injuries to midfielders Kevin Burns and Adam Moffat.

"My tendency is to go back and look what I've done -- Jason and Skylar are the same way," Tashjian said. "We kind of scratch our heads. We blame it on ourselves first and ask, 'How could we have prevented this?'

"Sometimes we have to take a step back a little bit. As long as we're not being naïve and say sometimes these things happen, circumstances will come and you're not going to avoid injuries. We took a little lick. We came through it and guys are getting back on the field."

Besides Hendrickson, the only players expected not to be medically cleared for Saturday's match against Chicago are defender Gino Padula (hamstring) and midfielder Eddie Gaven (left ankle sprain).

Padula has an exasperating situation because he was almost fully fit after rehabbing a right knee sprain that cost him seven games. His latest injury came in a reserve match June 25.

"A month (more recovery) is a fair estimate give or take a week," Tashjian said. "He's frustrated and I would be, too. The amount of work he did to get back from his MCL sprain and he really was feeling very, very good that first 10 minutes of the reserve game only to have the circumstances where he pulled, he's frustrated."

Gaven was the recipient of a bad tackle during a U.S. Open Cup match June. The goal now more than anything is to have him ready for the upcoming U.S. Olympic team training camp.

"He's doing fine. If he's going to be in the picture for the Olympic team we want to make sure he is strong and stable and can handle the change in direction, the change in speed and let the playing in camp do the fitness for him," said Tashjian. "If I had my best case scenario we're winning and we don't need him and let him recover. That would be my choice. If we need him I'm not saying it's impossible for him to make an appearance down the road."

The news is also encouraging for midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi, who went on the six-week disabled list May 13 because of a left quadriceps strain. He said he is fully healed.

"It's like preseason again when you're coming back and having to deal with maintaining your fitness and at the same time watching the guys playing. It kind of gets you down," he said. "Hopefully in the reserve game this weekend I'll get a little go at it."

Revs take bite out of Galaxy attack

CARSON, Calif. -- Adam Cristman scored two goals for New England on Friday night while the Revolution defense was nearly impenetrable as the league's highest-scoring offense managed just three shots on goal.

But Revolution coach Steve Nicol was not exactly thrilled with the way his team went about its 2-1 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

"We should have been 4-0 up and the game should have been over," Nicol said. "You can't afford to miss. ... We had two chances that should have been goals that would have killed the game. We end up holding on at the end. We felt like we deserved to win but we certainly made it difficult for ourselves."

New England held a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals from Adam Cristman but the Revolution forward had two passes to open teammates within the box that could have made the ending a lot more anticlimactic than it was.

At the end of the first half, Cristman found Mauricio Castro alone from 15 yards out but Castro rattled a shot off the right post. Then, Cristman walked past the Galaxy backline early in the second half and found Kheli Dube 12 yards out but the rookie fanned on his attempt.

"We really shot ourselves in the foot not scoring one of those to put the game away. It would have been a lot easier for us," Revolution captain Steve Ralston said. "For some reason, we like to make things interesting."

Carrying a 2-0 lead that should have been twice that took a bit of a mental toll on the players, and it brought back some memories from the Revolution's last trip to Carson.

"We easily could have been up 3-0 at halftime, and 3-0 is a lot better lead than 2-0. in the second half, we had a couple of chances to make it 3-0," Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst said. "We've had a couple of games like that. Last game here at Home Depot against Chivas, we let in a late goal and were barely able to hang on to win. It's something we need to get better at collectively, to put the dagger in teams and not make it close at the end."

Save for Castro's failed opportunity in stoppage time, the Revolution dominated the first half and players felt good about what the club was able to do to the Galaxy. With Landon Donovan not starting due to illness, the Revolution stopped David Beckham and the Galaxy's high-octane offense simply by denying them the ball.

"It was a team effort, really, top to bottom really we did a great job of closing them down," Parkhurst said. "In the first half especially we were able to keep the ball. They're not going to get chances if we keep the ball and we did a great job of that in the first half. We made them chase it and we put them under pressure."

Cristman punctuated the half by knocking in a pair of goals off corner kicks.

On the first, Cristman was in perfect position to score.

"Mauricio whipped in a great ball," Cristman said. "Shalrie (Joseph) got a good head on it and made it difficult for the 'keeper to save it and gave up a rebound. I was there back post to just tap it in."

Cristman took care of scoring the second one all on his own.

"Steve served a great ball and just came in from the back post and jumped in the air and over Abel Xavier and just tried to get a head on it," he said. "I was trying to just stay on the other side of Abel and try keep him turned around and so he wouldn't know where I was. He turned to look at the ball and I came in behind me. I guess he lost me."

Five-a-side: What's hot around MLS

MLS Five-a-side:The skinny on five things that matter this week in Major League Soccer:

1. One Y2K worry from it being 1999 all over again: Two of Major League Soccer quiet impact players this year also happen to be two of the remaining "96ers," a couple of guys still playing, improbably, like it was 1999. They are 34 years old, an age at which most professional soccer players are kicking the tires on the idea of retirement, if they haven't already bought into it.

Jesse Marsch and Steve Ralston, two of the remaining players who were trapping and passing during Major League Soccer's inaugural 1996 campaign, have played big roles for Chivas USA and New England this year. Neither is going quietly into winter.

Ralston's impact has been a bit more sporadic, but no less significant. The veteran attacker started his season with a flourish, captaining the side to a 3-0 win over Houston in a rematch of the 2007 MLS Cup Final. Ralston even scored New England's first goal of the campaign.

But he also suffered a knee injury and missed the next five matches. Returning seamlessly may have seemed problematic for a 34-year-old midfielder who plays his home matches on the lesser forgiving artificial turf. But not for Ralston, apparently, who picked up where he left off.

The pride of Florida International Univ. soccer now has a team-leading six goals. (And when you lead the East leaders in scoring, that's saying something.) He shares the team leadership in assists with three -- all while adjusting smoothly to the attacking midfield spot. (Ralston, a flank midfielder for most of his career, did play the central position for manager Steve Nicol at the end of 2007, as well.)

Remember, we are talking about somebody who has been around long enough to lay a solid claim to the league record for career assists (124), games played (348) and games started (345).

Across the country at The Home Depot Center, Marsch has been nothing short of a midfield dervish, looking even more active than last year, getting himself forward tirelessly to help mitigate Chivas USA's injury-related loss of striking power.

With four goals already this year, he is just one short of equaling his best season yet. (Marsch struck five times in both 2003 and 2005.) And that's with half the season still remaining.

Meanwhile, he's also been active in organizing matters defensively as Preki's team, as injury-ravaged as any team around, has been forced to juggle defensive personnel all season.

2. A change in Crew-ville on the horizon?: Eddie Gaven is returning from an ankle injury and could even be available for a few minutes Friday. He surely couldn't start just yet. But when the young U.S. attacker does get healthy enough to make the first 11, will he even have a starting job waiting for him?

Emmanuel Ekpo has already bettered Gaven's production in goals, despite starting just three games. (Gaven has started 10.) Ekpo also provided a big assist earlier this year, sliding a wonderful pass into Robbie Rogers for a game-winning goal against San Jose back on May 10. That was Ekpo's second MLS appearance -- and a wonderful way to announce his presence as a potential difference-maker.

The dynamic young attacker, a Nigerian under-23 international, has lots of room to grow. Gaven, meanwhile, has seemed to hit a plateau. Coming into the season, Crew followers had reason to wonder if Gaven would be picked for Peter Nowak's Olympic team. Now, they may be wondering if he'll be picked for Sigi Schmid's first 11.

It's not a bad conundrum for Schmid to have, however, as his team looks to build on a three-game unbeaten streak.

3. The longest season: For the record, Houston manager Dominic Kinnear says he does want to win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, that he takes the long-running tourney seriously.

But circumstances are dictating something else. Kinnear just hasn't been able to deploy a fully representative lineup. This year, like last year, he had to field a "reserve" team for U.S. Open Cup play -- and promptly got bounced from U.S. Soccer's club team competition.

It's hard to argue with the Dynamo formula, seeing as Kinnear's side is going for a third consecutive championship this year. Essentially, on the hunt for hardware, something's got to give.

So for the second consecutive season, Houston lost to the Charleston Battery just as the team from south Texas merged into the tournament named for U.S. soccer's late pioneer.

In the 2007 loss, Kinnear used just three regular starters. He didn't even take Dwayne De Rosario or Brian Ching on the trip.

Three regular starters might have improved the lineup this year; Kinnear fielded a team entirely made up of reserves, which lost in penalty kicks to the USL-1 side. Kinnear reasoned that he just didn't have a choice, with an MLS regular season match coming up two days later at Real Salt Lake. And the day in between, of course, would be used to travel across three time zones, from Charleston to Utah.

With SuperLiga and matches and contests in the new CONCACAF Champions League still to come, plus the team's matches already played in 2008 in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the Pan-Pacific Championships, Houston is already looking at a season of perhaps 50 competitive matches -- more than any MLS team has been forced to deal with.

4. Back to the future in MLS: We may be witnessing an unprecedented wave or prodigal sons in MLS. Josh Wolff is already on board for his second go-round with Kansas City, while negotiations continue to bring Brian McBride to Chicago.

Nate Jaqua may be back on his way to Houston, according to GM Oliver Luck. And Columbus is attempting to negotiate a prickly situation with former New England Revolution forward Pat Noonan, who may be interested in re-joining MLS after a half-season run in Norway. Columbus manager Sigi Schmid has made his interest in Noonan known, although rights issues for his contract must be sorted out.

Wolff can't play for his new team until the next transfer window opens on July 15. (True, as well, with McBride or anybody else who was under contract as the last transfer window closed a few months ago.)

Wolff probably won't need long to acclimate, even if K.C. plays at a new ground these days. He recently spent time with Bob Bradley's national team, so regaining fitness shouldn't take too long. And since he spent four seasons with Kansas City (2003-06) before trying the life of pro soccer in Germany for two seasons, he certainly knows the climate and general neighborhood.

5. It is that Jason Kreis, right?: There is a real irony to watching a team coached by Jason Kreis struggle so in front of goal.

Real Salt Lake had a wonderful opportunity to collect an invaluable road win last week at Kansas City. But for some imprecise work near goal, Kreis' men could have assumed control against the Wizards at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Instead, Curt Onalfo's team kept the visitors from scoring, and then managed an opportunistic goal at the end to collect all three points.

Thursday night on ESPN2, Kreis' team once again controlled matters, but never could beat Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad, despite plenty of good surges into the offensive third.

The irony is this: Kreis made a huge imprint as a player by being tenacious and fiercely opportunistic around goal. For a guy not blessed with great size (like his current striker Kenny Deuchar) or terrific speed (like his current forward Robbie Findley), he still managed to strike at a rate that compares favorable to some of the league's all-time great goal scorers.

Kreis produced slightly more than a goal every third game, which is about where guys like Brian McBride, Jaime Moreno and Preki landed in strike-rate. And he will probably be the only player in MLS to record the very first goal for two clubs, as Kreis has (Dallas and RSL).

Still, somehow, his team leads the league in shots, but sometimes lacks polish on the final combination around goal or, simply, in putting the ball on frame.

Rapids again triumph on Fourth of July

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- A fire broke out on the prairie outside of Dick's Sporting Goods Park during Friday night's postgame fireworks display. It was quickly doused, extinguished about the time the fireworks ran out, which is more than could be said for the relentless Colorado Rapids, who caught fire early in Friday's match and were never contained.

On an ever-evolving Colorado Rapids team, two things have stayed the same: the Rapids play at home on the USA's birthday, and the Rapids win those games, year after year.

Friday night's 4-0 blanking of the New York Red Bulls was no exception, improving the Rapids record to 11-1-1 on the Fourth of July, with every one of those matches played at home. They have a nine-match unbeaten streak on Independence Day, having suffered their only loss in 1999 against Columbus.

"I'm trying to talk to [Rapids general manager] Charlie Wright to make every game become a Fourth of July," head coach Fernando Clavijo said between the fireworks on the field and the fireworks after the game. "Fifteen Fourth of July games this season at home.

"The players react well to crowds," he added, on a more serious note. "They react well to this kind of atmosphere. They like to play in that kind of situation and that kind of pressure. Hopefully we can transfer this kind of effort and the result into the coming games."

You might think that such a near-perfect success record on July 4 would alleviate some of the pressure for the Rapids, but the players definitely had a sense of heightened expectations Friday night, in part because of the record-breaking crowd at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, and in part because of the urgency of not having won in their last four matches.

"We kind of felt pressure today," team captain Pablo Mastroeni said. "We haven't had a win in a while. We want to come out strong and be aggressive. If a play didn't work out, we wanted to make sure we pressured them quickly. Get on top of them and take the wind out of their sails, and I think we did a good job of that."

By the end of the first half, the Rapids were up 2-0, en route to doubling that score in the second half and matching their season high of four goals, scored against L.A., also in front of a capacity crowd at home on Opening Day.

"Tonight reminds me of the first game of the year," Clavijo said. "I thought we'd played well throughout the last four or five games. We just couldn't score. The players are playing hard. Every game except maybe San Jose at home we had a chance to win, on the road or at home. Today we proved it. We had a good attitude from the beginning. It was understood that playing good and playing hard was not good enough any more. We have to get results. We have a very good team, but you cannot win without scoring goals."

The win was a total team effort, with four different players - Tom McManus, Mehdi Ballouchy, Colin Clark and Omar Cummings - each scoring goals and six different players each earning an assist.

"Everybody wanted to win," said goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul, who recorded his fifth shutout of the season. "If we play like this every single game, home or on the road, it'll be tough for us not to get a 'W.' Today it was a whole team effort from the goalie, the forwards, the guys on the bench, the fans, everybody pitched in. It was like a whole Colorado Rapids unity team win."

And while Clavijo works on making every day the Fourth of July, Coundoul has a companion plan to replicate the Rapids' home atmosphere when the team hits the road.

"We need to bring the fans with us when we travel," Coundoul said, emphatically pointing out the role the Fourth of July crowd played in pushing the team to victory. "The fans are picking up the rhythm. Everything that soccer really needs, the Colorado Rapids fans are picking it up. They know when to cheer, when to boo, and that counts a lot. Especially when the team is doing well and you stand up and see, 'hey, we got the crowd behind us, so we can do a lot better than this.'"

Ultimately, while both the Clavijo and Coundoul proposals have their merits, the Rapids will need to consistently replicate the tight, crisp play they showcased Friday night throughout the remainder of the season if they want to climb back to .500 and make the run at the playoffs they believe they can achieve.

"Sadly we're capable of [playing like this every night]," said Clark, who had an assist on the first goal and scored the third, unassisted. "Sometimes we don't show it. It was great tonight. The atmosphere was great. The Fourth of July Festival and everything was phenomenal. The fans were great and we did what we're capable of doing. If we consistently play better, we're not going to score four goals every game, but I have a feeling we're going to come away with much better results than we've been coming away with."

Perhaps the most promising element in Friday's win was the fact the players were not letting it go to their heads. They have struggled too much this season to let a single win, no matter how decisive, make them overconfident. If they can beat San Jose on the road next week, it would mark the first time all season the club has put two successive wins together.

"Today was a good look in the mirror," Mastroeni said. "For the first time it felt like we were combining, putting another team on their heels in the first half. We kind of set the tone that way. If the passing is sharper, if the passing is quicker, if the guy that receives the ball has one more second because you made a quicker decision yourself, we're going to be so much better off. Today we did that. We found passes early. People knew where they were going before they got it. Then the next guy on the ball can make a better decision. And it just trickled down all the way down the field. ... And the result of that is a good game for us."

The festive crowd might have sparked the club Friday night, but the Rapids know it is up to them to meet the challenge and keep the fire burning like every day is the Fourth of July.

Stoppage-time goal gives FCD draw

FRISCO, Texas -- Three times this season, FC Dallas had seen their opponents score dramatic late goals to secure a late draw. On Friday at Pizza Hut Park, it was FCD's turn, as Abe Thompson scored in stoppage time to give the Hoops a 1-1 draw with the Kansas City Wizards.

Scott Sealy had put the Wizards ahead in the 39th minute, the first goal scored by a Wizards player in more than six hours of play. But Thompson headed home a cross from Eric Avila to give Schellas Hyndman his second tie in three league games since taking charge, the first goal allowed by the Wizards in 292 minutes of play.

Kansas City head coach Curt Onalfo went with the same starting 11 that defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0 last Saturday at the CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Hyndman opened in a 3-5-2 formation instead of the 4-4-2 that he began with in a 1-1 draw at Houston last Thursday.

The Hoops' evening started off on a high note. Striker Dominic Oduro made a nice run in the eighth minute from the right sideline. After breaking free from a Kansas City defender, the speedy Ghanaian dribbled up along the endline and attempted a cross in front of the goal that could have been construed as a shot. Either way, Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman got a hand on it and ended the chance.

Cooper missed a great opportunity in the 12th minute at close range but was unable to convert when Hartman came up with another save. Blake Wagner was in the area and might have been able to do something with the rebound but Hartman was quicker to the ball and smothered it with his body.

The Hoops had a couple of corners in the 25th minute, and FCD's Marcelo Saragosa got onto the end of the second, but shot it to the left of Hartman.

Juan Toja took a chance from long range in the 27th minute, but Hartman perfectly played the Colombian midfielder's bid for his first goal since March 30 and was there to make the save.

Heading into the game, a Wizards player had not scored in 410 minutes. That number reached 448 minutes before Sealy put the visitors ahead.

From the right flank, Davy Arnaud sent a good centering pass to Lopez racing toward the FCD penalty area. Lopez found Sealy with a first-time flick just inside the FCD box, and on the turn Sealy slotted it just inside the left post past a diving Dario Sala for his second goal of the 2008 season.

In the opening 45 minutes, FCD had seven shots to Kansas City's six. Each team had three attempts on frame.

Hyndman wasted no time in going to his bench, making two changes to start the second half. He brought on Thompson, who had two goals in the Open Cup win on Tuesday, for Oduro, and also brought on rookie Eric Avila for Andre Rocha.

Cooper nearly drew the match level for the Hoops in the 51st. The Dallas native hit a low blast from about 30 yards out but it missed the goal by mere inches, going just to the left of a diving Hartman.

Two minutes later, FCD had another great chance. Avila fed Wagner, who hit a great cross from the left flank toward the far post, where Cooper was waiting. The FCD attacker got a shot off but it deflected off Kansas City's Michael Harrington and hit the post.

In the 57th minute, Toja had a chance at close range that was saved by Hartman. The rebound popped out into the middle of the Wizards box but before FCD could convert, the flag went up for offside.

Onalfo went to his bench in the 59th, taking off Sealy for Ryan Pore and substituting Roger Espinoza in for Ivan Trujillo. Lopez moved up top alongside Pore for the visitors.

In the 63rd minute, Arnaud nearly put the game away. After blazing into the FCD box virtually untouched, he had a nice look at goal, but unfortunately for the visitors, his shot went just to the left of the frame.

FCD dodged another bullet in the 70th after another great free kick from Lopez. He spotted Victorine open at the far post and the Wizards midfielder sent a header that looked destined for the back of the net until Hoops center back Duilio Davino saved the day with a well-executed clearance in front of his own goal.

Dallas looked to have drawn level in the 77th minute with an apparent goal by Cooper. A Toja shot was originally saved by Hartman and put Cooper put the ensuing rebound into the net, but once again the linesman's flag went up for offside.

Finally, as the regulation 90 minutes concluded, Avila sent in a great cross from the left flank, over the Wizards back line. Thompson hit it perfectly with his head into the right side of the net to provide the equalizer.

Kansas City, which now has just one win in their last nine games, returns home Thursday to take on the New York Red Bulls. FCD, on the other hand, doesn't return to league action until July 19, when they play host to Colorado in Frisco. On Tuesday, the Hoops will face the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer Leagues First Division in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal, match also in Frisco.

Hot United get quickly back to work

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United have had barely 48 hours to savor Sunday's 4-1 thrashing of the Los Angeles Galaxy before the onset of their U.S. Open Cup campaign against the Rochester Rhinos in the cozy confines of the Maryland Soccerplex on Tuesday night. Many of D.C.'s starters are injured or drained, whether by Sunday's muggy weather conditions or merely the day-to-day toil required to sustain the team's dramatic recovery in recent weeks.

But there will soon be time to unwind, relatively speaking: Tuesday's match kicks off an unusually calm July for United, with their MLS calendar nearly wiped clean to make space for Open Cup and SuperLiga action. There's only one league match all month -- a July 22 home date with Houston -- and even that is a reschedule from an early June rainout.

"It's totally different, the fact that you just get in the SuperLiga and you focus on that," said D.C. head coach Tom Soehn. "Obviously the beginning and the end of the season get a little more jam-packed, where you're playing every third or fourth day. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, [depending on] if you're getting in a groove."

United has made a habit of crashing in the final stages of the last few seasons, due in part to strenuous stretch runs which began in the heat and toil of late summer action. So the scheduling gods seem to have finally smiled on D.C., allowing the club to focus on two knockout tournaments without requiring Soehn to reach quite as deep into his roster as last year. Twelve months ago, what was essentially a reserve side lost to the Harrisburg City Islanders of the USL Second Division in the first and last game of United's ill-fated Open Cup journey.

While SuperLiga's group format guarantees at least three matches and offers the sort of international glory that D.C. has lusted after for several years, an Open Cup run depends on United navigating a tricky tie against Rochester this week. The Rhinos are presently stuck in the USL-1 basement but history and timing could lead them to fancy their chances of an upset. Rochester is the only non-MLS team to win the Cup since the top-tier league began in 1996, and Sunday's harsh conditions could contribute to dead D.C. legs at the Soccerplex.

"Obviously we had a game today on a hot day, two days before, so my guess would be some reserves," said midfielder Clyde Simms on Sunday, when asked about Soehn's lineup choices for Tuesday. "But we'll have to see."

United's boss faces some intriguing questions. Red-hot goalscorer Luciano Emilio has probably earned a break, but the recent waiving of Franco Niell leaves the front line rather thin at the moment. Jaime Moreno and Santino Quaranta will miss out because of injuries -- so can he afford to rest playmaker Marcelo Gallardo, even though the Argentinean has rounded into excellent form of late? Reserve Rod Dyachenko has been somewhat inconsistent this season. Is he prepared to marshal the D.C. attack?

The Black-and-Red have declared greater enthusiasm for this year's installment of the nation's oldest cup competition, which in recent seasons has all too often been lost in their grinding shuffle of league play and international tourneys. Beyond the normal lust for hardware on East Capitol Street lies another enticement: United are surely eyeing the fact that a Open Cup title would offer a straightforward path back into the 2009 CONCACAF Champions League.

Soehn would surely like his team to maintain their present momentum and mount a legitimate U.S. Open Cup challenge, but his comments after the Los Angeles victory suggested that he's also got his eye further down the road.

"It's important that the last stretch of the season is when you are at your sharpest," he said, "and we still have some room to improve."