Major League Soccer

Alert Moreno sparks D.C. United to 6-2 rout of MetroStars.

By Gary Davidson
SoccerTimes

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Saturday, July 3, 2004) -- Striker Jaime Moreno's body has taken a beating in nine Major League Soccer seasons, but his mind is as sharp as ever.

Moreno had long been of the opinion that MetroStars goalkeeper Jonny Walker tended to be a little to laid back with the ball at his feet and this afternoon the D.C. United striker exploited that tendency to net the decisive goal, sparking an eventual 6-2 rout of the MetroStars before 16,177 at RFK Stadium.

After giving United a 2-1 lead, Moreno recorded assists on each of fellow forward Alecko Eskandarian's two goals. Eskandarian has five goals in his last three games, giving him six for the season, tied with five other players, one behind league-leader Brian Ching of the San Jose Earthquakes.

"Jaime's awesome to play with. It's really a privilege to play with him," Eskandarian said. "He makes it easy on me where I can just focus on making runs in the box and things like that cause he's so good at holding and passing the ball. My second goal was all Jaime. He's the main part of our attack."

Moreno, who played last season with the MetroStars after seven years in Washington, and was Walker's teammate for a time, tied Metros midfielder Amado Guevara and Kansas City Wizards midfielder Chris Klein for the MLS lead with six assists. Add in four goals and Moreno has 14 points, tied for third behind 16 points for Guevara and 15 for Ching.

With a 5-5-5 record and 20 points, United stretched its unbeaten streak to four (2-0-2) and moved into first place in the Eastern Division, the first time the club has held the top spot this late in the season since its 1999 MLS Cup championship campaign. The MetroStars (5-6-4, 19) dropped their third straight match in a week.

Seven minutes after defender Ryan Nelsen tied the game for United, Moreno caught Walker being too casual with a backpass from defender Jeff Parke. As Walker touched the ball to his left, about nine yards off his goal line, preparing for a long clearance, Moreno stuck his left foot in and poked the ball away. The Bolivian was quick to the ball as it squirted toward the left post and easily knocked it into the net for a 2-1 advantage in the 37th minute.

"That's how he (Walker) is with his personality and I don't think anyone's going to change him," said Moreno, who is third all-time having suffered 443 fouls, but is looking pretty fit after two injury-filled seasons. "Everybody's responsible for whatever thing that you do and that's him. When you play the game, you try to read everything, so I read it well. I was looking to get the ball and it was an important goal for us.

"It was unfortunate for Jonny, but I was fortunate to read his play. I was lucky to take the ball off him and it was an easy goal. That's what Jonny likes to do. I went for it. It was unfortunate he did what he did, but I took my chance, but I was glad to score."

Said MetroStars coach Bob Bradley: "Jonny has made so many big plays for us, made so many saves, and now he got caught."

Four minutes later, it was Eskandarian giving United a 3-1 lead to take into the break. Moreno received a pass from midfielder Dema Kovalenko and carried 15 yards down the right flank before touching right to an overlapping Kovalenko, wide of the box. Charging from the left side of the box to the near post, Eskandarian used his first touch to blast a shot seven yards into the right side netting for a 3-1 advantage.

"I was kind of delaying my run a little bit cause I saw Dema making his overlap," Eskandarian said. "I kind of saw this lane open to the near post and I just busted my ass to get there. And Dema hit a perfect ball to me and I hit it with my right foot. I'm not a righty, but it was pretty well struck."

Midfielder Earnie Stewart's first goal of 2004 put United ahead 4-1 in the 57th minute. Kovalenko provided a perfect lead pass, allowing Stewart a free run into the right side of the box. As Walker approached, Stewart poked the ball through the keeper's legs.

Reserve striker Fabian Taylor pulled a goal back for the MetroStars to narrow the deficit to 4-2 in the 63rd minute. Striker Eddie Gaven did the hard work, splitting two defenders and dodging a third in the left side of the United box. He pushed the ball to the near post and Taylor raced past a flat-footed Nelsen to beat goalkeeper Troy Perkins to the ball which he tucked home from two yards out.

Any doubt about the result was erased when Eskandarian buried his second tally in the 69th minute. Moreno carried alone into the right side of the box before crossing to the far post, perfectly leading Eskandrian who, in full stride, buried his shot from four yards, making it 5-2. Eskandarian appeared to be a yard offside, but no one on the Metros' bench seemed to argue.

"It was Jaime again, coming down the right side," Eskandarian said. "I just made a move on my guy, got behind him."

Midfielder Ben Olsen finished the scoring in stoppage time, drilling a low 20-yard free kick through the defensive wall and into the left corner of the net.

The MetroStars took advantage of a lax United defense for a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. Guevara, from his side of the center stripe lobbed along ball over the D.C. back line, which failed in a weak attempt at an offside trap. This left Gaven to go in alone on goal. Approaching the top of the penalty area, Gaven waited for Perkins to approach to within a few yards before easily chipping a shot over the helpless goalkeeper and into the net.

"I think that we got a little bit overconfident and D.C. United raised their level of play and we just couldn't fight back," Guevara said. "We are in a very difficult situation, so we just have to get a win and try to play better."

United equalized 12 minutes later when midfielder Bobby Convey curled a free kick from several yards wide right of the box in front of the net. Seven yards from the center of the goal, Nelsen elevated above three MetroStars defenders, most notably Parke, to snap a header just inside the far post to make it 1-1.

Eskandarian brought on the free kick, hounding Parke into a turnover, forcing Parke to then foul to prevent a United break down the right flank.

"It was a waking call for us when they went up 1-0," Moreno said. "We reacted pretty well. It was nice to see the team react. It was good to see we put a great effort on. Winning is always good."

Referee: Jair Marrufo. Referee's Assistants: Robert Fereday, Paul Scott. Attendance: 16,177 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Time of game: 1:50. Weather: Sunny, 88 degrees.

Gary Davidson is SoccerTimes' managing editor. E-mail Gary Davidson.