Rimando’s Shutout Lifts D.C. United
Nick Rimando set a team record with his third consecutive shutout, and No. 1 overall draft pick Alecko Eskandarian scored his first two Major League Soccer goals as D.C. United beat the Columbus Crew, 3-0, Saturday night in front of 13,907 at Washington.
Rimando, a former UCLA player from Montclair, made four saves for his league-leading fifth shutout, even though it was only the second victory this season for United (2-3-5). Rimando hasn’t given up a goal since the 75th minute of a 3-2 loss at Dallas on May 31.
Defender Mike Petke scored in the 43rd minute, and Eskandarian had goals in the 79th and 85th minutes as United got more than two goals for the first time this season. Eskandarian, who entered the game as a substitute for Hristo Stoitchkov in the 69th minute, became only the second forward to score for United all season.
Rimando had only one difficult save, but it was spectacular. In the 28th minute, he leaped to his left to catch Freddy Garcia’s curling free kick just inside the post.
The Crew (4-4-3) was shut out for the second time this season.
Marco Etcheverry set up Eskandarian’s first goal, working the ball along the goal line from the left. His pass was deflected by Ben Olsen to Eskandarian for the easy goal.
Santino Quaranta set up Eskandarian’s second goal with a back pass, allowing the rookie to put his shot past goalkeeper Tom Presthus inside the far post.
San Jose 2, Dallas 1 -- Arturo Alvarez scored on a header in the 87th minute in his first MLS start to lead the Earthquakes (5-2-2) over the Burn (1-4-3) in front of 7,601 at Southlake, Texas.
San Jose’s Brian Mullan, who scored his team’s first goal, crossed a pass to the 17-year-old Alvarez, who headed the ball into the left corner from just outside the goalkeeper’s box.
Chicago 3, New York/New Jersey 2 -- Ante Razov scored two goals and Andy Williams had three assists against his former team to lead the Fire (4-2-3) over the MetroStars (5-3-2) in front of 16,116 at East Rutherford, N.J.
It marked the first time that MetroStar Coach Bob Bradley faced the Fire, which he coached for five seasons. Bradley won the 1998 MLS Cup championship with the club.
Colorado 4, New England 1 -- The Rapids (2-6-2) doubled their season goal production as four players scored in victory over the Revolution (4-3-3) in front of 15,967 at Denver.
Seth Trembly, John Spencer, Mark Chung and Chris Carrieri scored for Colorado.
WUSA
New York 3, San Jose 1 -- Christie Welsh scored two goals in front of 5,727 at Uniondale, N.Y., to lead the Power (5-5-1) to their third consecutive victory by defeating the CyberRays (4-6-0). Welsh has six goals.
Philadelphia 2, San Diego 0 -- Marinette Pichon scored her seventh goal and Melissa Moore made six saves for her second consecutive shutout to lead the Charge (3-5-2) over the Spirit (3-3-4) in front of 6,345 at Villanova, Pa.
Atlanta 0, Carolina 0 -- Carolina goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill made five saves, and Atlanta’s Melanie Wilson stopped nine shots as the Courage (3-5-2) and Beat (4-2-4) played to a tie in front of 5,285 at Cary, N.C.
