You want perfectly played soccer? It sure didn’t happen in Washington DC tonight, but you did get to witness one of the most entertaining matches of the year.
DC United Vs. Toronto FC: Wildly Entertaining Match Ends 3-3
Fresh off of his first call-up to the United States Men's National Team, DC United goalkeeper Bill Hamid was shown a red card in the 7th minute after a clumsy challenge outside of his box on Toronto FC's Eric Avila. United was forced to make the early change bringing off midfielder Stephen King for backup goalkeeper Steve Cronin.
Being down a man early didn't completely faze United, and Dwayne De Rosario made his former team pay when he he put the home side ahead just ten minutes after the red card. Santino Quaranta, playing in his first match since the middle of May when he suffered a concussion in training, played a short free kick to De Rosario, and the Canadian international put the ball past his former teammate Stefan Frei from well outside the penalty area. The remainder of the half would see DC outplay Toronto to the delight of the home crowd.
Toronto came out on the attack in the second half and were rewarded with a goal from halftime substitute Peri Marosevic in the 50th minute to level the score. Ashtone Morgan played in a cross from the left wing that Cronin tried to punch out of the box. Unfortunately for the United goalkeeper, the ball traveled about 3 feet before smacking the back of centerback Brandon McDonald and falling to the feet of Marosevic who had an easy tap in.
De Rosario would strike against his former team again in the 64th minute to give United a 2-1 lead. For Toronto fans, the match immediately became the "Andy Iro Show" due to his calamitous mistakes. In this instance, Chris Pontius played a ball in that Iro allowed to go right through his legs, and De Rosario pounced on it, rounded Frei and put in the back of the net.
It wasn't until the 69th minute that referee Jasen Anno decided to spice things up a bit with an awful, game-changing decision. Toronto had throw in deep in DC territory. McDonald was behind the DC goal getting treatment for an injury and was unable to return, so the referee signaled for substitute Ethan White to come on the field. White had taken two steps on the field when Toronto threw the ball in and Julian De Guzman scored a screamer. The United players on the field, coaching staff and players on the bench and the fans in the stands went absolutely mental. For his protest against the call, United manager Ben Olsen was sent to the stands.
The "Andy Iro Show" was on display again in the 85th and 86th minutes. Toronto would take the lead on a corner kick in the 85th minute when Danny Koevermans got his boot to a Joao Plata free kick that deflected off of Iro and into the net. This lead would last just a minute as Austin Da Luz ran down the field on the kick off and was shoved from behind to the ground by the Iro earning a penalty. De Rosario stepped up to take the penalty and even the score once more to earn his hat trick.
De Rosario almost bagged his fourth goal in stoppage time when he gathered a loose ball in the box but saw his shot go just wide of the goal.
The match will likely be felt as a loss by both clubs who needed a victory. DC fans will feel aggrieved by the bad decision by the referee on the De Guzman goal, and Toronto fans will feel aggrieved that their club traded for Andy Iro.
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