D.C. United came off 20-day break and got exactly what it needed in Saturday’s victory at Chivas USA but also made a potentially significant injury sacrifice in the process.
United’s 3-0 win helped its playoff push, and all three goals coming from forward Charlie Davies, his first strikes since late June boosting his confidence and put him back in the race for MLS’ goal scoring lead.
But all of Davies’ goals were set up by Chris Pontius, who was lost two minutes after the night’s third goal to a non-displaced fracture of his right tibia in the 68th minute after a scary sliding collision with Chivas defender David Junior Lopes.
D.C. United has not announced a timetable for Pontius’ return.
Pontius was carried off the field and left the stadium by stretcher, with cameras showing him clutching the stretcher straps and showing a concerned look on his face, staring at his lower right leg, which was wrapped heavily in ice.
The 24-year-old, coming off his first U.S. national team camp since prior to the 2010 MLS season, was arguably the game’s brightest star, showing great speed and unselfishness to set up Davies repeatedly. The assists were Pontius’ third, fourth and fifth of the season, complementing his career-high seven goals in his third MLS season.
Pontius started the Chivas match at forward, which was also a testament to his value this season. He had begun the year as a left-side midfielder after former struggles playing forward early in his MLS career, but has proved versatile enough to move back to the front line following Santino Quaranta’s recent return from injury, a better option than veteran Joseph Ngwenya or rookie Blake Brettschneider (Josh Wolff is nursing a hip flexor injury).
Davies, who hadn’t scored since June 25, now has 11 goals on the season, good for third in MLS.
