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De Rosario, Salihi lead D.C. past Colorado

May 17, 2012 - 1:55 AM Washington, D.C. (Sports Network) - Dwayne De Rosario and Hamdi Salihi scored their third goals of the season Wednesday night, netting on opposite sides of halftime to help D.C. United claim a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids at RFK Stadium.

De Rosario put the home side in front in the first half when he netted his first goal of the season from the striker position - both of his previous goals came when he was deployed a midfielder - and Salihi put the victory beyond any doubt in the second half when he notched his first MLS goal as a starter.

Both sides are 2-2-0 over their past four league games. The result sees D.C. (6-4-3) go level with Sporting Kansas City on 21 points apiece despite having played three more matches, while keeping Colorado (5-6-0) fifth in the Western Conference on 15 points.

D.C. broke through in the 25th minute when Lewis Neal laid a perfect ball into the path of De Rosario. The Canadian took one touch before slipping his effort past an on-rushing Matt Pickens.

Andy Najar nearly doubled the advantage before the close of the first half when he cut inside from the right flank and ripped a shot on goal, but Pickens was able to parry the effort out of play to keep Colorado within touching distance.

The Rapids were not able to stay close for long as United went two goals up at the 60-minute mark. Branko Boskovic lost his mark in the box and powered a header directly at Pickens. The Rapids 'keeper pulled off a superb reaction save but Salihi was waiting on the doorstep to turn in the rebound.

Colorado struggled to test D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid as the Rapids were held scoreless for the third time this season.

D.C. will remain at RFK for its next two league matches as it gets set to face Toronto FC and the New England Revolution over the next two Saturdays.

Colorado also returns to action with two consecutive home games as it will host Sporting Kansas City (May 19) and the Montreal Impact (May 26) at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.