• Recap
• Bleachers

Emilio scores twice as D.C United, Chivas tie

Sep 7, 2007 - 6:32 AM CARSON, California (Ticker) -- Luciano Emilio scored two goals in the first half but it wasn't enough to keep D.C. United from settling for a 2-2 draw against Chivas USA on Thursday.

D.C. United (13-6-4) struck first as Emilio found the back of the net, beating goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the third minute for his 15th tally of the season.

"My guys showed a lot of character to come from 2-0 down against the best team in the league with the most points in the league," Chivas coach Preki said. "This shows how far we've come as a group. We've never beaten these guys or taken many points from them.

"I think we could have got a third goal if not for the bad call on Galindo. We were all over them in the second half, that's what led to the second goal."

The 28-year-old Emilio's 16th goal came in the 26th minute, when he fired in a rebound after Guzan redirected a save in the penalty area for a 2-0 advantage.

Emilio's two-goal performance moved him into sole possession of first place for the Golden Boot Award, passing New York's Juan Pablo Angel and Eddie Johnson of Kansas City.

In the 31st minute, D.C. netminder Troy Perkins attempted to clear the ball and his kick deflected off Ante Razov and easily rolled into an unprotected net for an unassisted goal, slicing the deficit in half. It was Razov's seventh tally.

"We showed a lot of heart and character," Razov said. "We kinda gave away the two goals a little cheaply and dug a hole early. To come back against a team like United is really a positive to take into next week."

Chivas (11-6-4) completed its impressive comeback when Jonathan Bornstein found Lawson Vaughn for his first career goal in the 60th minute to tie the game.

"The first goal was disappointing. For them to make something out of nothing is a mistake you can't afford to make at this level," United coach Tom Soehn said. "I feel we should have won the game so at this point I'm just glad to be going home with a point."

D.C. United remains undefeated in six all-time meetings against Chivas, which moved to within two points of first-place Houston in the Western Conference.