May 9, 2009 MLS DC United vs Toronto FC (from FubolMLS.com)

Wild night at RFK
Late penalty costs Toronto FC
05/09/2009 10:20 PM
Douglas McIntyre / FutbolMLS.com

WASHINGTON -- Dwayne De Rosario scored two second-half goals and Adrian Serioux added another, but another late penalty kick call on Marvell Wynne forced Toronto FC to settle for a 3-3 tie against D.C. United on Saturday night at RFK Stadium.

The point was TFC's first in four all-time trips to RFK and the tie extended Toronto's unbeaten run to five games in all competitions, but the Reds missed a golden chance to leapfrog the hosts and claim sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference standings.

De Rosario's second goal came less than 60 seconds after D.C. United's Chris Pontius had tied things up in the 86th minute. TFC carried a 2-1 advantage in to the late stages of the match after an early marker from D.C. United's Ange N'Silu gave the hosts the early lead.

De Rosario unassisted rocket from distance after a slaloming run through the United defense put TFC up for the second time in the match before Jaime Moreno's spot kick in stoppage time ensured the draw.

De Rosario's first tally came after goalkeeper Stefan Frei's booming, quickly-taken dropkick took a huge bounce deep at the edge of the United penalty area. De Rosario fought off defender Marc Burch's challenge to flick the ball over the head of Milos Kocic and into the net.

Serioux put home Toronto's first go-ahead goal in the 63rd off Amado Guevara's free kick from the right side of United's area. The defender soared high to powerfully head home the Honduran's swerving service.

Frei made several impressive second-half saves, and it was easy to see during the first 45 minutes that it would be a long night for the highly-touted rookie backstop.

The home team put Toronto FC under pressure right from the start, winning challenges, pinging the ball around the Reds' half of the field and sending in several dangerous early crosses when opportunities arose.

Frei dealt with the first two with relative ease but spilled the third cross, a curling effort from United defender Devon McTavish, who had pushed forward on the left side.

The ball fell to the feet of Fred, and the Brazilian fed Rodney Wallace, but the Maryland product whiffed on the first-time effort. But Fred came up with the loose ball once again and played a quick short pass to N'Silu, who sent his shot past Frei and into the roof of the net to give D.C. the early advantage. It was the Congo native's first career goal.

D.C. continued to threaten from crosses and corner kicks. In all, United had six first half corner kicks to Toronto's two.

But the second half was a different story, as TFC took its chances and its stout defending on the other end frustrated United until the final minutes.

It was the second consecutive road match in which Wynne was whistled for a late handball. The previous one was in a 3-2 loss to FC Dallas on April 19.

TFC came to the U.S. capital unbeaten in four consecutive matches, including the 1-0 Canadian Championship win against the second-tier Vancouver Whitecaps last Wednesday. All four matches were played within the friendly confines of BMO Field.

De Rosario returned to TFC's staring lineup for the first time in three MLS games. De Rosario missed the first two matches of the Reds' recent four game homestand with an injured hamstring, but did play the second half of the Reds' 1-1 tie vs. Columbus last weekend before going 90 in the midweek tilt against Vancouver.

Argentinean striker Pablo Vitti began the game on the bench after starting the previous three MLS matches. Vitti replaced the ineffective Chad Barrett at halftime.

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