D.C. United held to 1-1 draw by 9-man New England Revolution

Coming off a disappointing 1-0 defeat last Sunday against the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United had a great chance to get back to winning ways on Saturday against the New England Revolution. Down by a goal in the second half, the Revs saw Chris Tierney and Lee Nguyen get sent off within minutes of each other.

Playing the last 30 minutes with a two man advantage though, wasn't enough for the Black-and-Red, as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw after Jairo Arrieta scored his third of the season in the 80th minute.

Former D.C. United striker Charlie Davies put the Revs up in the first minute of first half stoppage, tapping home after Bill Hamid saved Juan Agudelo's header from a corner. The Revs were then reduced before the 60th minute, as Mark Geiger sent Tierney and Nguyen off to early showers.

The match started as one between two teams coming off losses in their last games, rather than two teams battling for the top of the Eastern Conference. Neither side looked particularly sharp early on, but it was New England, who lost 4-2 at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, who looked brighter as the half wore on.

Jermaine Jones had an inviting cross in behind United's defense in the 12th minute, that got beyond the center back duo of Bobby Boswell and Kofi Opare. But the ball was also just out of the reach of Davies, who couldn't connect to get a shot off.

Agudelo slipped in behind the defense minutes later, but his cross went unbothered in front of goal, allowing Chris Korb to clear the danger.

Conor Doyle, handed a rare start, almost worked a shot in the 27th minute for United, as Chris Rolfe played him a ball that let Doyle run at goal. But with the defense bearing down, Doyle couldn't capitalize, and the Revs cleared before the former Derby man could get a shot away.

Opare and London Woodberry exchanged headers at either end of the field, to no avail. Opare had two bites at it, missing the ball on the first chance, before heading over with the second opportunity. Woodberry then sent Nguyen's corner over the mark, but credit to Opare for the marking that forced the miss.

Nguyen himself had a long range effort from just outside the box after some miscommunication in United's defensive third, but the US midfielder disappointed in not hitting the mark with his effort.

Ben Olsen was then forced to make a change in the first half, as Michael Farfan appeared to injure his hamstring while committing a foul . He was unable to continue after being evaluated, and was then replaced by Jairo Arrieta.

Scott Caldwell then combined with Tierney to create an opening in the 38th minute. Caldwell's ball found Tierney in space, and the left back then sent in a ball that found Nguyen in the box. But just as the midfielder went to put a shot on goal, Opare slid in to block the ball away.

Just after two stoppage minutes at the end of the first half were announced, United found themselves in a 1-0 hole. After some dangerous play from the Revs, United conceded a corner, which was sent in by Tierney. Agudelo rose up to head the ball on target, only to have his shot parried by Hamid. The rebound fell right to the feet of Davies, who was all alone to tap in for the opening goal.

United got off to a better start in the second half. Doyle's ball got behind the defense, but eluded Arrieta, and was cleared out for a corner before Chris Pontius could get onto the end of it. From that corner though, New England would be reduced to 10 men.

Pontius took the corner, and had the ball come back out to him. As he went to collect, Tierney came in studs up, and hit Pontius right in the knee. Mark Geiger had no hesitation in showing the left back a red card, leaving the Revs with just 10 men for the remaining 38 minutes.

Rolfe had an opportunity minutes later, as a corner kick fell to him at the top the box, but his effort was well wide of the mark when a shot on target looked more likely.

Then in the 58th minute, Nguyen saw red, leaving the Revs with just 9 players for the remaining 32 minutes. Davy Arnaud and Nguyen tussled for the ball, both holding on to each other. But as the ball was seemingly won by Arnaud, Nguyen cocked his elbow back, and caught Arnaud in the face. Geiger showed a second yellow, giving United an even better opportunity to find the equalizer.

The Black-and-Red found the Revs difficult to break down though, and chances, even up two men, were few and far between. A decent opportunity opened up in the 67th minute, as a long ball by Arnaud was headed down in the box by Doyle. The header found Arrieta, who then laid a pass back for Rolfe, only for the veteran playmaker to fire over the mark.

Despite being down two men, the Revs found a couple opportunities at the other end. Teal Bunbury worked himself an opening after skipping past a Boswell challenge, but Opare was perfectly placed to block the shot out. Substitute Kelyn Rowe then found an opening 25 yards out, but his well hit effort went just wide.

That set the table for Arrieta's equalizer, which came from a combination of the three substitutes. Facundo Coria, making his Black-and-Red debut, played a ball out wide for Taylor Kemp in the 80th minute. Kemp, who had come on for Korb earlier in the second half, took on touch, before sending a cross in on the ground. Arrieta made a darting run in behind Andrew Farrell, and poked home to level the score at 1-1.

That left 10 minutes plus five minutes of stoppage for United to find a winner that would never come. Not only did United fail to find the second goal, but they failed to carve out any chances, and settled with just the one shot on target. Geiger blew for time after Boswell's ball to a wide open Arrieta near the corner of the box was well off the mark, and went out for a corner.

United retain their spot atop the Eastern Conference, with 22 points from 12 games. They will immediately head out west to PDX, for a Wednesday clash against the Portland Timbers.