Emilio's goal lifts United to 1-0 win over Wizards
Associated Press
09/09/09 10:30 PM EDT
WASHINGTON — Luciano Emilio scored in the 39th minute and D.C. United opened a five-game homestand with a��1-0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Wednesday night.
D.C. (8-5-12) moved into sole possession of third place in the Eastern Conference. United moved ahead of four teams fighting for the final three MLS playoff berths.
Josh Wicks made five saves and notched his fifth shutout of the season as United ran its unbeaten streak to four games (2-0-2) and improved to 6-0-5 at RFK Stadium.
Emilio's goal came shortly after Kansas City's Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff were thwarted during a three-chance sequence from 5 yards in the 36th minute.
Conrad's header glanced off the crossbar before Wicks blocked Wolff's follow-up on a bicycle kick. Wolff took the third shot of the flurry, a drive cleared by a defender in traffic.
D.C. converted shortly after being awarded a corner kick. Chris Pontius was unsuccessful with a diving header attempt at the left post, but the loose ball squirted off the upright and across the penalty area to Emilio, who scored his team-high ninth goal on a low shot from the right side that beat goalkeeper Kevin Hartman to his left.
The Wizards (6-11-6) fell to 1-4 under interim coach Peter Vermes, who replaced the fired Curt Onalfo on Aug. 4. Kansas City has dropped five of six overall.
Chance Myers received his second yellow card in the 86th minute for a hard tackle on D.C.'s Jaime Moreno. The Wizards played a man down the rest of the way.
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Story from: STATS LLC, http://www.stats.com.
