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D.C. United overwhelms Toronto FC

Apr 6, 2008 - 3:39 AM By Todd Karpovich PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- After being held scoreless in its regular-season opener and in the CONCACAF semifinal in the past week, D.C. United ended the drought in dramatic fashion Saturday night against an overwhelmed and short-handed, Toronto FC

Luciano Emilio and Santino Quaranta scored goals in the opening five minutes and D.C. United had little trouble in posting a 4-1 victory over Toronto FC in front of an announced 20,161.

Marcelo Gallardo and Jaime Moreno each scored second-half goals as D.C. United after Toronto was forced to play a man down when midfielder Kevin Harmse was ejected for a hard foul on Gonzalo Peralta in the 22nd minute.

One of the favorites in the East Conference, D.C. United evened its record to 1-1, while Toronto fell to 0-2 after scoring a league-worst 25 goals as an expansion team last season.

United coach Tom Soehn said he urged his team to come out aggressive and that was the key to the victory.

"A start like that is hard to overcome," Soehn said. "We had a stretch where I thought we should have kept the ball a little better. I thought we attacked with too much urgency instead of stretching them out and making them work harder."

D.C. United opened the game by aggressively attacking Toronto in the middle of the field and capitalizing on both of its early chances.

Emilio picked up a loose ball just outside the penalty area two minutes into the game and ran past two defenders before sliding the ball into the near corner of the goal.

Quaranta doubled the lead just three minutes later when he knocked in a rebound from about three yards out.

"It has been awhile since I enjoyed the game (like that), so it was a pleasure for me," Quaranta said. "It was nice to be out there in front of the fans again and working hard. I have been working hard in training and I was excited when I saw (I was starting)."

Things then got even worse for Toronto when Harmse was ejected for taking down Gonzalo Peralta from behind.

Toronto was forced to go with Danny Dichio as its only forward, but still managed to create several chances off free kicks.

However, United goalie Zach Wells responded to each test and came off his line several times to scoop up loose balls inside the penalty area.

Despite its lead, D.C. United also continued to attack and a rising free kick by Gallardo from 30 yards out in the 40th minute had to be stopped by a diving save by goalkeeper Greg Sutton.

D.C. United continued to cause fits for Toronto in the second half and added to its lead when Gallardo connected from five yards out off an errant shot by Devon McTavish.

"You do all of your preparation and within five minutes, you are two goals down," Toronto coach John Carver said. "You give yourself a long climb, and that is very difficult against a good side. You can't give any team a two-goal head start."

Toronto nearly got on the board in the 61st minute when newly acquired Laurent Robert collected a clear and raced down the middle of the field, but his low shot from 10 yards out was stopped by Wells.

Robert agreed to terms with Toronto earlier in the week after being let out of his contract with Derby County of the English Premier League.

Moreno capped the scoring for United in the 78th minute. Following a string of passes from Fred and Franco Niell, Moreno slipped a shot past Sutton from six yards out on a low shot to the far corner.

Toronto finally got on the board in the 88th minute when Maurice Edu headed in a pass from Jim Brennan from just inside the penalty area.