Washington, D.C. (May 2, 2015) – D.C. United (5-1-2, 17 points) set a club record for points after eight games and kept a share of first place in the Major League Soccer standings with a 2-0 win over Columbus Crew SC (3-3-2, 11 points).
United extended its unbeaten streak overall to six games and its unbeaten streak at RFK Stadium to 16 straight games in all competitions, including 12 consecutive in league play.
Fabián Espíndola, playing his first regular season home game of 2015, put United ahead in the 15th minute, and then delivered a corner kick to Sean Franklin to double the lead in the 41st minute.
After missing the previous two games, goalkeeper Bill Hamid returned and earned his fourth shutout of 2015.
D.C. United returns to action against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, May 9, at RFK Stadium (Comcast SportsNet, 7).
D.C. United is unbeaten in six straight matches and off to the best start in the club’s 20 seasons. In 2006, United was 4-1-3 (15 points) after eight matches.
United is unbeaten in 16 straight games in all competitions at RFK Stadium, including 12 straight in league play.
D.C. United won its first game against Columbus since 2012, ending a streak of five consecutive games without a victory.
D.C. United improved to 26-24-10 all-time against Columbus, and 19-8-4 at RFK Stadium.
D.C. United is 4-0-2 in 2015 when scoring first. United went 16-0-1 in 2014 when scoring first and has not lost a regular season game when scoring first since Sept. 28, 2013, a 4-1 loss at Toronto – a stretch of 24 games.
Fabián Espíndola scored his first regular season goal of 2015, the 56th of his MLS career.
Espíndola had his first assist of 2015, the 29th of his career
Chris Rolfe had his team-leading third assist of the season, the 31st of his career. It was his fourth straight game with a goal or assist, which is tied for the second-longest streak in MLS this season.
Sean Franklin scored his first goal of 2015, the seventh of his career.
Bobby Boswell made his 62nd consecutive regular season start. Boswell has 42 consecutive starts since his return to D.C. United in 2014.
Head Coach Ben Olsen’s overall record is now 54-65-37. He is 4-6-2 against Columbus.
D.C. United made two changes to the starting lineup from the previous game against Vancouver, replacing Andrew Dykstra and Michael Farfan: Hamid, Korb, Opare, Boswell, Franklin, Pontius, Arnaud, Kitchen, DeLeon, Rolfe, Espíndola.
*Luis Silva made his fifth straight appearance off the bench.
Match photos:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oug7s2sp2y15vl5/Se_MDe4sFG
Highlights:
Espíndola goal: //www.dcunited.com/news/2015/05/goal-fabian-espindola-capitalizes-on-a-chris-rolfe-break
Franklin goal: //www.dcunited.com/news/2015/05/goal-sean-franklin-slots-in-a-corner-from-fabian-espindola
D.C. United (5-1-2, 17 points) vs. Columbus Crew SC (3-3-2, 11 points)
MLS regular season
May 2, 2015 – RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 13,107
Goals by Period 1 2 Total
D.C. United 2 0 0
Columbus 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
DC: Fabián Espíndola 1 (Chris Rolfe 3) 15’
DC: Sean Franklin 1 (Fabián Espíndola 1) 41’
Misconduct Summary:
DC: Fabián Espíndola (Encroachment) 71’
DC: Sean Franklin (Time wasting) 90’
D.C. United lineup:
Bill Hamid; Chris Korb, Kofi Opare, Bobby Boswell, Sean Franklin; Chris Pontius, Davy Arnaud, Perry Kitchen, Nick DeLeon (Michael Farfan 63’); Chris Rolfe (Luis Silva 71’), Fabián Espíndola (Miguel Aguilar 86’)
Unused Substitutes: Travis Worra, Conor Doyle, Taylor Kemp, Jairo Arrieta
Columbus lineup:
Steve Clark; Hernan Grana (Hector Jimenez 65’), Emanuel Pogatetz, Michael Parkhurst, Waylon Francis (Chris Klute 46’); Justin Meram (Kristinn Steindorsson 46’), Mohammed Saeid, Tony Tchani, Ethan Finlay; Federico Higuain, Kei Kamara
Unused Substitutes: Tyson Wahl, Kevan George, Aaron Schonfeld, Matt Lampson
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Assistant Referees: Kermit Quisenberry, Kathryn Nesbitt
Fourth Official: Edvin Jurisevic
