D.C. United 3, Toronto FC 3
There is bizarre, and then there is Major League Soccer.
That is the only way to begin to try to explain what unfolded at RFK Stadium on Saturday, where D.C. United and Toronto FC finished in a 3-3 tie after nearly 100 minutes of soccer that included a new way for United to make its life difficult at home – this time by going down to 10 men after an early red card – yet another head-scratching incident involving already embattled MLS referees, an ejected coach, a hat trick, and goals from each team during the final five minutes of regulation.
“I don’t even know what just happened,” United head coach Ben Olsen said.
The night was supposed to be a celebration for D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who was called into the U.S. national team for the first time on Thursday. Instead, six minutes into the match the 20-year-old raced off his line and five yards beyond the left side of the box as D.C. defender Brandon McDonald and Toronto midfielder Eric Avila also tracked a ball down the wing. As the three players converged, McDonald made the clearance, but Hamid positively clobbered Avila and was sent off by referee Jasen Anno.
“I was hoping to do well for my teammates and for the club and show people what I can do, especially after getting the call-up,” Hamid said. “But it’s unfortunate I couldn’t stay on for my teammates and back them up.”
With Hamid ejected and not able to be replaced, D.C. also had to pull midfielder Stephen King to send on goalie Steve Cronin, who hadn’t played a single minute all season. But playing shorthanded didn’t stop Dwayne De Rosario from putting United (6-6-9) ahead in the 19th minute on a blast from 25 yards. It was far from the last the crowd of 11,684 would hear from De Rosario.
Despite attempting to stall the game from there, D.C. gave up a familiar game-tying goal just after halftime when Cronin dove to punch an Ashtone Morgan cross, sending the ball directly into his own defender, Brandon McDonald, and watching it fall to the feet of forward Peri Marosevic for an easy poke home and a lead for lowly Toronto (3-11-11), who entered the night tied for last place in MLS’ Eastern Conference.
Still, after a second De Rosario goal, this time cleaning up a Chris Pontius cross that snuck through the legs of Toronto defender Andy Iro, United was back on top in the 64th minute.
But what happened five minutes later sent the game into a tailspin.
With McDonald off the back end of the field with a leg injury, D.C. United was set to send Ethan White on as his replacement when the ball went out for a Toronto throw-in from the sideline.
Instead of stopping play, Anno motioned for White to come on the field as if he were an injured player. While White waited for a whistle, Morgan took the throw, which was immediately picked up by midfielder Julian de Guzman. With White racing onto the field behind him and the D.C. United defense still not set, de Guzman unleashed a rocket from 30 yards that knuckled past a diving Cronin. The goal sent Olsen and United players into a frenzy, ultimately resulting in Olsen’s ejection.
In statement afterward, the referees recounted their view of the action from the time of the throw-in.
“Play was stopped and the referee beckoned the substitute, D.C. United player, White on to the field,” the statement read. “At that moment, the Senior Assistant Referee and the fourth official told the player to enter the field of play, which he did. Play was restarted with the whistle and the ball was put into play by Toronto.”
White begged to differ, De Rosario said he never heard a whistle, and Pontius surmised that Anno mistook White for an injured player returning to the field.
“The fourth official was screaming at [Anno] to stop play, and then I just sprinted on the field because play hadn’t stopped,” White said. “I took it upon myself to run on the field. By the time I took three steps, the ball was in the back of the net.”
Stunned by having given up the lead yet again, things got worse for D.C. when Toronto forward Danny Koevermans and Andy Iro combined to squeak an uncleared corner kick between Cronin’s legs for a 3-2 lead in the 86th minute.
Cue De Rosario one final time, in this instance from the penalty spot after Iro sent D.C. midfielder Austin Da Luz to the ground in the box immediately after Toronto’s seeming go-ahead goal.
“I know we had a referee meeting at the start of the year, and they said the refs weren’t going to be as good as in the past,” De Rosario said. “I think it kind of showed tonight because those decisions impact the game. I’ve never seen, ever, in a substitution, a ref flag on a sub before without blowing the whistle and stopping the play, and letting the defender get in his position. He subbed the defender on, and he didn’t even get into his position, and the ball was played, and it cost us a goal.”
De Rosario had two more chances to add what would’ve been his fourth goal of the night and a would-be gamewinner, but after more than six minutes of extra time, there was no doubt that anyone heard Anno’s final whistle, signaling an end to a night United was grateful to escape from, though its scars will linger.
“I don’t want to talk about the referees because I don’t want them to be the story,” Olsen said. “I think Dwayne De Rosario should be the story that you guys write about, and the heart of the group out there, that got screwed every which way tonight, didn’t get a call all night, but they found a way to get one point, and it should’ve been three.”
