Results tagged “dcunited”

Olsen's career had plenty of highlights, despite the fact that recurring ankle troubles -- the most serious of which occurred while Olsen was on loan at Nottingham Forest in 2000 -- cost him a considerably unfair portion of his prime, especially on the international stage. United fans certainly have plenty of memories to look back fondly on from his time in the Black-and-Red: his hat trick at RFK against New York in 2007, his man of the match performance in the 1999 MLS Cup final, or even his equalizer against New England early this year. Personally, my favorite memory of Ben Olsen was on a sweltering hot day in June 2008, when Olsen -- in but 15 minutes, his only action that season -- received an overwhelming reception from the nearly 36,000 fans who had come to the stadium that day to jeer David Beckham.

In a move which should surprise no one, D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn removed his name from consideration for the team's head coaching position in advance of his contract's expiration yesterday, effectively ending six years of service with the club. Soehn, an assistant coach from 2004 to 2006, was promoted to head coach for the 2007 season and started brightly, leading United to the MLS Supporters Shield in his first season. But after two consecutive years in which United failed to make the MLS playoffs, it was obvious that the club would not be extending his three-year contract, which was due to expire at the end of 2009. Soehn finished his tenure at United with a 55-48-31 record in all competitions.

With their chances of making the postseason finally dashed on Saturday night after a heartbreaking 2-2 draw in Kansas City, D.C. United's focus moved from the inconsistency of their on-the-field performance to their arguably much more intriguing off-the-field affairs. Besides a potential coaching change and plenty of questions about a major shake-up in the front office, the more pertinent debate is perhaps the still-looming issue of finding a new home for the club.

United 1, Toluca 1: D.C. United have spent this year on the fringes of pretty much everything. The fringe of the MLS playoffs. The fringe of silverware in the Open Cup. The fringe of victory or defeat (the team has 14 draws in 44 games over all competitions). The fringe of being able to put together a complete ninety minutes as a cohesive unit. Teams that live on such fringes often end up owing up their successes and failures to chance -- and so it is with United, whose advancement to the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League (much like their chances to advance to the MLS Cup playoffs) now sits in the hands of other teams. On its own, the one-all draw at Toluca would probably be viewed as a success. American sides never fare well in the high altitudes and hostile atmospheres of Mexico, let alone against one of the marquee sides in the country. Additionally, Tom Soehn was understandably resting a large number of his regulars in advance of Saturday's league finale against Kansas City -- Ben Olsen, Clyde Simms, Jaime Moreno and Marc Burch sat, and Boyzz Khumalo, Rodney Wallace, Christian Gomez and Dejan Jakovic played abbreviated roles. With a win, United could have assured their place in the next stage of the competition, and they got off to as good a start as they could. Chris Pontius supplied a fantastic strike to open matters, but Israel López equalized for Toluca from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute. United was fortunate to hold on, as keeper Steve Cronin impressed again with several key saves. D.C. will now need Marathon to either tie or lose against San Juan Jabloteh to advance; it would be the first positive result for Jabloteh in the group stage, so don't hold your breath.

Capitals 3, Predators 2: The Caps won in a dramatic shootout -- we'll have a full recap tomorrow.

The following post is from our advertiser, D.C. United.

We can’t even begin to tell you how many reasons there are to attend D.C. United’s final regular season home game of 2009. Seriously, where do we start?

• It’s the team’s final game of the year, and they’re making the push for the playoffs (must win!)
• You can get 35% off all team merchandise throughout the entire stadium.
• College students can get 50% off tickets if they order in advance
• The club is celebrating the ‘99 team that won MLS Cup with a special halftime presentation.
• 5,000 fans who are 21 and over get a free Budweiser koozie.
• There will be 5,000 free ‘99 reunion DVDs handed out.

There are tons of great ticket offers and packages. Come out and support the Black-and-Red!

Capitals 6, Maple Leafs 4: We'll have a complete wrap-up of the Caps home opening goalfest against the Leafs tomorrow morning.

Okay, let's just get this out of the way up top: San Juan Jabloteh features a player named Elton John. It's kind of difficult to take that seriously, even for a sport where guys named Banana score goals and participants sport these kinds of hairstyles in a tournament watched by a billion people.

Sure, I could be negative. I could tell you that last night was the quietest I've heard RFK Stadium in some time. I could talk about how secondary the reputation of the CONCACAF Champions League appears to be, even for those involved in the competition. I could harp on the poor finishing in the first half of the match, an effort so indicative of numerous D.C. United matches this season -- full of exciting offensive potential, but so little return.

• Phillies 5, Nationals 0: It always seems like the teams who succeed in the playoffs have two big time starters. Well, the defending champs have a whole bunch of candidates in their rotation for that 1-2 punch -- but Cliff Lee certainly made his case to be the number one guy against the Nationals on Tuesday night. Lee (14-11) absolutely dominated the Nationals lineup, tossing a complete game shutout. Unfortunately for Washington, Garrett Mock (3-8) couldn't have looked further from an ace, allowing five runs in the first two innings. Homer-happy Philadelphia didn't even need to go yard against Mock to take the lead; instead, balance was the key, as every Phillie hitter but Lee reached base during the game.
• United 1, San Juan Jabloteh 0: Christian Gomez's first half penalty kick led United to their first victory in the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, although they had plenty of chances to bury the scrappy Trinidad and Tobago league champions. It was a homecoming for United defenders Avery John -- who captained the side -- and Julius James, two Trinidadian natives who, despite the fact that there seemed to be only 100 people in attendance, must have been excited to play in Port-of-Spain. But Gomez was the engine behind what was certainly D.C.'s B-team. Heck, even Danny Szetela, who's been in Tom Soehn's doghouse for some time, played the full ninety. Gomez expertly nailed the lone goal of the match from the spot after Jabloteh defender Noel Williams handled the ball in the penalty area early in the first half. With the three points, United stays alive in the competition; with three games remaining in group play (next Thursday at home against Marathon of Honduras, a home date with Jabloteh later this month and an incredibly tough fixture on the road against Toluca of Mexico in October), they likely still need to take at least six points to advance to the knockout stages.

Sounders 2, United 1: Same two teams, same result, same player with a big goal. United dropped another fixture to Seattle at RFK Stadium last night 2-1, after doing the exact same a week and a half ago. It's certainly arguable which defeat is more damaging to the club -- the loss 10 days ago with the Open Cup on the line, or this one, which really puts D.C. in a bind as far as the race for the MLS playoffs are concerned. Seattle went ahead early on a fifth-minute strike from Steve Zakuani, who got on the end of a nice pass from Peter Vagenas and megged Josh Wicks for the lead. Rodney Wallace equalized for the Black-and-Red about ten minutes into the second half, but it was Sounders striker Freddy Montero who really stuck the dagger into United. (I mean, again.) After the home side had chances to take the lead, Montero hit an upper 90 blast to lead Seattle to the victory. United still find themselves with playoff possibilities, but they hold several games in hand over most of the teams competing for those final positions and will find themselves at the mercy of the fates if they can't hit a hot streak soon.

Since it's Saturday night, let's keep it light and have some fun, eh? Here's your nightly sports recap, comprised entirely of easily digestible haikus.

When I was but a wee lad, I loved watching the game show Press Your Luck. The most exciting part of the show was watching someone get their last whammy and crapping out -- for whatever reason, it was just far more entertaining to watch someone with thousands of dollars lose their money because they stopped the moving lights on a small red...thing. The tension, it was palpable.

Who needs to pay attention to the somewhat juvenile complaining that's been going on between the two front offices in Seattle and D.C., when we can get an actual child to lay down the truth of the matter? This adorable little girl summarizes all you need to know about tonight's U.S. Open Cup Final at RFK Stadium.

Wave that flag high, kid. If this doesn't make you want to go to the game tonight, we don't know what will.

The following post is from our advertiser, D.C. United.

What more could you want than cheap tickets to a championship match and cheap beer and hot dogs all evening long? Join D.C. United this Wednesday, September 2, as the team attempts to win its record 13th trophy in the U.S. Open Cup final. Seattle Sounders FC will make its first ever visit to RFK Stadium for the championship match, set for 7:30 p.m. ET For the big game, United has rolled back prices to 1996 level - in honor of the team’s first-ever Open Cup title. Tickets start at just $12 and hot dogs and beers (16oz domestic drafts) are $2 all night throughout RFK Stadium! If you’re a college student, you can get an even better deal via our special College Student Discount - tickets for only $10! D.C. United. We win trophies. Join us for the next one.

For the sparse crowd of United supporters who attended last night's CONCACAF Champions League debacle against Toluca of Mexico at RFK Stadium, it would be easy to attribute the result and the team's incredibly poor performance to fixture congestion.

United 0, Galaxy 0: A downpour, the two biggest stars in MLS, a nearly-must-win scenario, a season-high 22,134 hopping fans, and assistant coach Chad Ashton taking the first-team reins for the first time in his United career after regular manager Tom Soehn came down with flu-like symptoms before the game -- to say that it was an exciting night at RFK would be an understatement. United came out strong, but sadly, the spotlight of the game fell mostly onto the referee. The stadium exploded in the eighth minute after a beautiful interplay through midfield ended with a fantastic finish by Luciano Emilio poking it into the back of the net -- but the goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside. (Emilio was at least a yard on.) A booking in the 11th for captain Ben Olsen's tackle on Beckham only intensified the crowd volume. United's quality in possession delivered plenty of chances, but Galaxy keeper Donovan Ricketts was up to the task and kept things scoreless. The second half saw the introduction of Jaime Moreno, and United continued to pressure the L.A. goal. But shot after shot, corner after corner, header after header just went wide or over. Of course, the referee again blowing a big call -- waving off a clear-cut penalty when Emilio was pushed down -- didn't help anything. United's firm grip on the game began to loosen in the final fifteen minutes -- L.A. began to push forward and created a couple of chances. But keeper Josh Wicks maintained the clean sheet by denying a couple of direct shots on goal, especially a Landon Donovan header from a Beckham cross in the waning minutes. The Black-and-Red bossed the game, but it was just not their night. It was hardly a surprise that two teams with 20 draws between them split the points -- though the lack of goals was disappointing.

• Rockies 4, Nationals 3: Lost in all the Strasburgian elation, it was almost easy to forget that there was an actual baseball game this evening. Unfortunately, the nine on the field couldn't follow up the front office's big win with one of their own, losing for the first time in their last nine home games against the Rockies. Even though Colorado roughed up Nationals relievers for two solo home runs in the final two innings, the Nats had a chance to at least take things into extra innings -- but Ryan Zimmerman lined out to left with runners on the corners to make the final out. Nationals starter Craig Stammen pitched adequately, giving up only two runs in 5.1 innings, and even knocked in a run in the fourth inning on his third double of the season. But he was outdone by Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez (11-9), who went eight solid innings for the win. It was a night where the lineup just couldn't seem to get much momentum going, although Nyjer Morgan did have three hits. And hey, we got Strasburg! (Feel better?)
• Marathon 3, D.C. United 1: The trip to San Pedro Sula to take on Honduran champion Marathon in their first game of group play in the CONCACAF Champions League might have been longer than United's normal MLS jaunt -- but it was much of the same road form, as a late lapse in defense handed D.C. a rough defeat. The Black-and-Red seemed like they were in good position to earn a point at the Olímpico Metropolitano, after Luciano Emilio sacrificed his head (and lost some blood for his trouble) to knock in an equalizer in the 48th minute. United even had a gilded chance to take the game by scruff of the neck when a wonderfully-lofted cross by Santino Quaranta was met squarely by Devon McTavish -- but Juan Ángel Obelar saved expertly for Marathon. After that, it was all downhill, as it usually seems to be for D.C. on the road. A wonderful flick on from Mitchell Brown came with ten minutes to spare, and talisman Jerry Palacios finished smoothly. It was a deserved goal for Marathon, who played well during the final third of the match. Mario Berríos tacked on a penalty to complete the victory. Of course, the Champions League is a nice thing to participate in, but United will be eager to get back into the MLS playoff race -- they host Beckham and the Galaxy at RFK on Saturday.

The following post is from our advertiser, D.C. United.

Looking for the best place to have an after-work drink with friends? Look no further than D.C. United's Win We Trophies Tour. The most successful soccer team in U.S. history is celebrating ahead of it's big championship match in the U.S. Open Cup final versus Seattle Sounders FC on September 2 by taking its 2008 U.S. Open Cup trophy to DC-area bars every night this week. At each stop you can:

• Get your photo taken with the 2008 U.S. Open Cup trophy
• Win United memorabilia and merchandise
• Enter to win the We Win Trophies Giveaway, which includes four fantasy sideline seats to the Open Cup final and four all-you-can-grab shopping sprees through the D.C. United Team Store.

This week's schedule:

• Monday, 7-9 pm: The Pug (1234 H St. NE)
• Tuesday, 5-7 pm: Fado (808 7th St. NW)
• Wednesday, 6:30-8:30 pm: Ventnor's Sports Cafe (2411 18th St. NW)
• Thursday, 6-8 pm: Mackey's (1823 L St. NW)
• Friday, 5-7 pm: The Irish Channel (500 H St. NW)

View the full We Win Trophies Tour schedule online. You can purchase tickets to the Open Cup final, for as low as $12. We win trophies. Join us for the next one.

How different, really, are D.C. United and Real Madrid? On the surface, that's a laughable question. One has spent vast fortunes to attempt to knock off their eternal rivals; the other has only a handful of players who earn salaries that wouldn't be scoffed at on the other team. One is from Spain, a country that arguably boasts the best domestic league and national team in the world; the other is from the United States, where the domestic league is seen as little but a minnow in the worldwide football hierarchy, and the national team is in a constant uphill battle for respectability. One squad's bench contains nine players who could wipe the floor with most teams in the world by simply adding a couple guys they found on the street; the other's bench, while not untalented, would likely struggle to make it through an entire season with a winning record.

• Nationals 6, Marlins 4: Remember what we said about big innings? Well, the Nationals sure got one last night -- a six-run explosion in the bottom of the eighth which led them to their first win of the season against the Marlins. Adam Dunn put the exclamation point on the late rally with a two-run homer which had nearly 20,000 at Nationals Park up and rocking. While we're obviously big homers for the Nationals, Florida starter Josh Johnson's performance should not be overlooked. Johnson retired 20 straight Nationals between the first and the eighth inning, but was still charged with four runs after Washington got five hits in the eighth to reverse the lead. Again, a starter failed to impress, as J.D. Martin couldn't get past the fifth inning (and with 16.1 IP in four games this year, he's barely averaging more than four innings per start) -- but reliever Ron Villone (4-5) was the lucky recipient of the late outburst, and Mike MacDougal retired Florida in the ninth for his third save in three days. Recently traded ex-Nat Nick Johnson did go 2-for-4 in his return to D.C.
• United 1, Firpo 1 (5:4 pens): Despite giving up a goal in the first half on a penalty kick, the Black-and-Red got the away goal that they desperately needed from an expertly-struck Christian Gomez free kick in the 43rd. The second-half found both teams keeping it tight and unsuccessfully diving (Firpo, especially) in hopes of penalties. Extra time loomed large, but thirty minutes of tired football wasn't going to settle anything -- so it was on to penalties to decide the tie. The first six spot kicks were elementary, but defender Manuel Salazar missed Firpo's fourth, and destiny was in United's hands. Christian Gomez grasped the chance and put in the final penalty past Firpo keeper Juan Jose Gomez. It wasn't the easiest time in hostile San Salvador, but with that, United punch their ticket for the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League -- and get a positive boost before their friendly against Real Madrid on Sunday.

• Pirates 11, Nationals 6: Man, things were going so well for the Nats. The team had won four in a row, the bats were hot, and the pitching staff actually looked somewhat credible. That was four days ago -- much happier times. Now, the Nationals have lost four straight, capped off with last night's loss in Pittsburgh where Pirates centerfielder Andrew McCutchen -- all 5'11" and 175 pounds of him -- took Nats pitching deep three times, doubling his home run total for the season. McCutchen can straight out fly on the bases, but any team that allows him to homer three times in one game has some serious issues. Craig Stammen (3-6) allowed six runs and was pulled after only 44 pitches on the mound. Washington's top third of the lineup had eight hits -- but the remainder of the team couldn't get runners around, leaving 12 men stranded, and only batting 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Former Nat Lastings Milledge also had two RBI for the Bucs just to rub some salt in the fresh wound. Young Collin Balester will attempt to halt the Nationals' losing streak this afternoon, while Paul Maholm will take the hill for Pittsburgh in Sunday's matinee.
• Dynamo 4, United 3: The good news: United finally broke their long scoreless drought at Houston's Robertson Stadium with a three-goal outburst. The bad news: They only did so after allowing three Dynamo tallies in four minutes in the first half. D.C.'s road woes struck again, and it was difficult to attest which was hotter: the temperatures in south Texas (it felt like 98 on the pitch), or Houston's strike force, especially Brian Ching. The big Hawaiian had a brace in two minutes on a couple of bulldozing strikes which left keeper Josh Wicks breathless. Two tallies from Luciano Emilio and a nice long distance strike from Fred made the game interesting, but Stuart Holden's 66th minute penalty kick ultimately proved too much to overcome. With the win, Houston leaps back into first place in the race for the Supporters' Shield -- the Black-and-Red remain a tenuous third in the East.

• Nationals 8, Brewers 3: Is Nyjer Morgan going to be the acquisition that takes the interim tag off Mike Rizzo's general manager title? It certainly appears that way. The spunky center fielder -- who has been a driving force behind quite a bit of the team's recent success -- led off yesterday's game with a home run and drove in three runs to lead the Nats to their fourth straight win. Adam Dunn and Cristian Guzman also took Milwaukee pitching deep -- Dunn's even went out of the building -- as the Nationals continued to pile up big innings against opposition hurlers. With the win, manager Jim Riggleman upped his record at the helm to 6-7. (Hey, that's almost .500!) Collin Balester (1-1) provided a quality start, allowing two runs on five hits in six innings. Carlos Villanueva (2-8) took the loss for the Brew Crew. Tomorrow night, Washington counters fellow eight-loss Brewer Manny Parra with the unpredictable Garrett Mock -- a fifth straight win would be their longest positive streak of the season.
• United 1, CD L.A. Firpo 1: The Black-and-Red settled for a draw against Club Deportivo Luís Ángel Firpo in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League prelimary round matchup. Firpo, based in Usulután, El Salvador, will be pleased to head back home with an away goal tucked in their back pocket -- United will now have to earn a score draw or win in the return leg next week to avoid being dumped before the group stage of the tournament. The visitors were the aggressors from the outset, attacking a patchwork D.C. lineup with solid possession play. Eventually, a silly attempt to dribble out of trouble from center back Greg Janicki gave Firpo's Mario Benitez a one-on-one with keeper Milos Kocic. The Columbian delivered off the post and it was 1-0. Jaime Moreno tallied the equalizer from the penalty spot, but United couldn't muster another, leaving them with plenty of work to do next Tuesday in hostile territory at the Estadio Monumental Cuscatlan -- the largest stadium in Central America.
• Fever 85, Mystics 81: The Mystics held a 28-18 lead after the first quarter, but couldn't maintain on the road against league-best Indiana. They'll certainly look back on the disparity in free throws: Indiana made 28 of 36 at the line, while Washington only went 9-16. 20 Mystics turnovers didn't help much, either. Then again, maybe it was just Katie Douglas' night -- the versatile player lit the Mystics up for 34 points. Alana Beard had 19 for Washington in the losing effort.

>> Nationals 13, Padres 1: Well, the Nationals started about as well as they could have: a triple from Nyjer Morgan and a home run by Ryan Zimmerman staking them to an early two-run lead.

• Nationals 4, Mets 0: It was Adam Dunn t-shirt night at the ballpark, and the brawny slugger tried his best to come up big: two hits, scoring and driving in a run. But surely, Dunn has to be happy sharing the spotlight with a pitching performance like the one John Lannan delivered against the Mets last night. In his first career complete game shutout, Lannan (7-7) quickly worked up and down the lineup, allowing seven hits in a 4-0 victory -- Jim Riggleman's first as manager (although, it should be noted that one should win most of the games in which your starter goes nine scoreless, regardless of managerial acumen.) Nyjer Morgan also chipped in a great leaping catch with two runners on in the third. Oliver Perez (2-3) took the loss for the reeling Mets, whose manager and GM both got the dreaded "vote of confidence" before last night's game. After being shutout for the fifth time in 13 games (against this team, no less), perhaps the front office might want to vote again.
• United 2, Rhinos 1: D.C. United kept rolling through the U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 semifinal win over USL-1 Rochester at the SoccerPlex -- the Black-and-Red will defend their Open Cup title in the final on September 2 at RFK against either Seattle or Houston. The match was a fairly dull affair until the second half, when goals and severe injuries created some intrigue. A penalty kick from Jaime Moreno put D.C. in front after the break -- but the Rhinos, who won the Cup in 1999, equalized through Taiwo Atieno and things got a little murkier for D.C. But Boyzzz Khumalo delivered United to the final with a industrious tally, slamming in a rebound in the 82nd minute -- sadly, the man of many Zs broke his wrist minutes later. Speaking of injuries, the game was marred after a challenge -- dubbed "absolutely disgraceful" by Rochester coach Darren Tilley -- left Rhinos defender Darren Kenton with a gruesomely dangling ankle. (For those who follow English football: Kenton's injury was Eduardo-esque. For others: Google those images at your own risk.)
• Kastles 23, Buzz 12: Washington kept its chances at a playoff spot alive, thanks to a romp over the New York Buzz at Kastles Stadium. With a win in their final match, the Kastles will earn a spot in the four-team playoff -- of course, they'll have to beat undefeated Springfield to do it, but anything's possible.

Yes, the D.C. Real World cast meandered its way to RFK Stadium on Saturday night for United's 3-1 win. DCist was there to report on the match, but we also managed to document the reality show's entrance into the stadium. We were surprised when the castmembers were seated in the Barra Brava section of the stadium, certainly the most difficult for a camera crew to shoot in, what with the constant bouncing and all. Highlights of the evening included United supporters booing castmembers for reading chants off a piece of paper (obviously, singing and shouting "D.C. United" or "United" in rhythm is a very difficult thing to commit to memory), and Barra members arguing whether the filming was an annoying distraction from the game or just good PR for the team. The question now: will The Real World acknowledge D.C.'s baseball futility with a trip to Nationals Park?

You know that show about the fishermen who leave home for months at a time to come back with big catches, significantly more grizzled faces, and, at times, missing certain people that they left with? Right -- we all know that one. One of the best parts about that program: even though some of the things they go through on the high seas would make the most hardened of individuals tremble, when they get back on land, all the fishermen down a few beers, talk about what a wild, strange trip its been, and hop right back on the ship that could be their collective coffin.

• Rockies 5, Nationals 4: One day after being but the eighth team to ever be shutout at Coors Field, at least the Nationals scored last night in Denver -- Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham both went deep. But poor pitching and fundamentals were back again: starter Jordan Zimmermann lasted but four innings, laboring and forcing bad breaking balls over 96 pitches. It was always going to be tough for this Nats bullpen to get through five full innings. Jason Bergmann and Sean Burnett got through three innings unscathed; but Julian Tavarez (3-7) walked two in the bottom of the eighth, and then Joe Biemel turned a sure double-play dribbler to the mound into an awful overthrow, loading the bases -- a sacrifice fly later and it was yet another late-game disappointment. Huston Street overwhelmed the top of the Nats' order in the ninth for his 21st save and Colorado reliever Alan Embree (2-2) recorded the victory without throwing a single pitch.
• United 2, Harrisburg City Islanders 1: D.C. United sure likes to make these Open Cup games against teams from lower divisions interesting, now don't they? The Black-and-Red grabbed a two-goal lead after eighteen minutes through strikes from Boyzzz Khumalo and Andrew Jacobsen, and it appeared as if the rout was on. But even though Harrisburg had midfielder Mo Odour sent off shortly after the restart and United was dominant in possession throughout, the Islanders pulled one back -- a poor clearance by Greg Janicki gave Islanders rookie Nicki Paterson a one-on-one with keeper Milos Kocic, which he calmly converted to cut the lead in half. Harrisburg desperately pushed for an equalizer -- even hitting the bar late on -- but United held on for the win. They'll take on yet another lower-division side, the Rochester Rhinos, in the semifinals of the Cup on July 21, again at the Soccerplex.
• Lynx 96, Mystics 94: The Mystics blew a nine-point fourth quarter lead and lost an absolute heartbreaker to Minnesota. With eight seconds left in overtime, Marissa Coleman was fouled attempting a three-pointer, but missed her final shot which would have tied the game. Amazingly, the Lynx again fouled a three-point shooter seven seconds later -- and again, former Lynx guard Lindsey Harding missed the third free throw which would have forced a second OT, maligning what was an otherwise fantastic 27 point effort. Nicky Anosike led Minnesota with 21 points.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup - the bi-annual soccer tournament for the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean - kicks off Friday, but the festivities will through the District next week when RFK Stadium hosts a first round double-header on Wednesday July 8. The United States, fresh off that tremendous Confederations Cup run, will play the nightcap against Honduras, while Haiti and Grenada will duke it out in the early 7 p.m. match. Tickets are available here. Maybe you’re familiar with the U.S. team, but not so much the others? We figured as much, so here is your official DCist guide to the 2009 Gold Cup.

It was a night where one would be hard-pressed to call United's 2-0 victory over the amateur Ocean City Barons at the Maryland SoccerPlex undeserved. It took a penalty kick, a mishandle by the goalkeeper, some kind woodwork, and a some spectacular efforts from Milos Kocik to get by a team consisting of collegiate players, an elementary school teacher, a civil engineer, and a youth soccer coach. You can probably forgive the few United supporters in attendance for sweating a bit.