D.C. United lost 2-0 to the New York Red Bulls in their 12th match of the 2020 MLS Regular Season.
For the second match in ten days against the Red Bulls, Head Coach Ben Olsen, elected to go with an offensive 4-4-2 formation. Chris Seitz kept his place in goal for the third straight match with Joseph Mora, Donovan Pines, Frédéric Brillant, and Chris Odoi-Atsem making up the back four. Mohammed Abu started his third straight match in the midfield along with Júnior Moreno, Julian Gressel, and Kevin Paredes, who played in a more advanced, attacking midfield role. Gelmin Rivas got the nod for the first time for the Black-and-Red and played alongside, Ola Kamara up-front.
D.C. United were the better team for the opening forty-five minutes as they kept a majority of the ball and looked dangerous in the final third. After a dominant start to the match, the Black-and-Red found themselves down 1-0 as Aaron Long headed-in from a Kaku set-piece in the 29th minute.
Gelmin Rivas was directly involved in the two biggest opportunities for the Black-and-Red. In the 37th minute, he cleverly slid a pass into Julian Gressel’s path as he made a darting run into the 18, only to see the midfielder’s goal-bound strike blocked for a corner. Rivas then almost scored on an acrobatic scissor kick that forced a great save from Red Bulls goalkeeper, Ryan Meara. The Black-and-Red went into halftime down 1-0.
United started the second half on the front foot and looked the more likely team to score. But against the run of play, the Red Bulls found the back of the net in the 62nd minute as Daniel Royer volleyed home a cross from Jason Pendant.
The Black-and-Red continued to push forward and created several openings, including a Federico HiguaÃn strike from outside the box that was destined for goal until a fingertip save from the Red Bulls goalkeeper. D.C. United kept the pressure on their rivals for the rest of the night, but were unable to find the breakthrough.
D.C. United return to Audi Field to face Toronto FC on September 19 at 7:30 p.m. EST. Tune into WJLA 24/7 News, www.dcunited.com, and ESPN+ to watch the match.
