United maintains pace vs. FC Dallas

FRISCO, Texas — If there was any doubt whether D.C. United was ready for a run at the Eastern Conference title, it was erased last night.

United throttled FC Dallas 4-0 at Pizza Hut Park, extending its league-high winning streak to six games.

With the win, United (13-6-3) tied New England atop the Eastern Conference with 42 points setting up a key match with the Revolution next Sunday at home. United has a chance to enter that game in sole possession of first place, if it earns a point or more against Chivas USA on Thursday.

Last night’s match was supposed to be a good road test against one of the Western Conference’s best teams. Instead it turned into a glorified scrimmage. Except for some uninspired play midway through the first half, United controlled the tempo and created the best scoring chances. United, which tied a season-high with four goals, outshot Dallas 12-9 and six of those shots were on goal.

That United is hitting its stride at this point of the season should be no surprise. United has just about its full complement of players and is getting healthy. More encouraging is that the roster shouldn’t experience any major changes during the final 10 games because players’ international commitments are minimal.

United coach Tom Soehn tried to downplay the dominance of the win.

“Dallas had a little time off,” Soehn said of a Dallas team that hadn’t played since Aug. 19. “We caught them on a day when they were not sharp.”

Nevertheless, the victory keeps United on a scintillating roll. The win was United ‘s fifth shutout in six games and the team has scored two or more goals in four of its last six games.

Most satisfying in United’s offensive explosion was Ben Olsen’s contributions. Olsen, who went scoreless for two months, notched United’s first two goals. He has now scored three goals in his last three matches and set a career-high in goals with seven.

Olsen’s role primarily has been as a defensive midfielder, but United’s formation change this season allows him to attack the goal from the flank.

“I’m cleaning up a lot of scraps,” Olsen said. “The change of formation has allowed me to get back to my old days. It feels good. I really enjoy playing this position.”

Olsen’s goals were smart and opportunistic. His first came in the fourth minute unleashing a rocket from 36 yards to the far post past unsuspecting Dallas keeper Dario Sala. Later, he slipped behind Dallas’ defense in stoppage time and scored on a rebound off Luciano Emilio’s point-blank shot.

United added two goals in the first five minutes of the second half to clinch the win. Olsen notched his third point of the night on a drop pass to Christian Gomez, who scored from 25 yards out. Fred added the final tally three minutes later.

The most exciting moment of the match for Dallas (11-8-3, 36) was when newly acquired Brazilian forward Denilson entered in the 55th minute. Denilson, who warranted a $36 million transfer fee in 1998 — the highest ever at that time — exhibited some passing skills that helped guide Brazil to a World Cup in 2002 but couldn’t manufacture any genuine offensive chances.

Wizards 1, Dynamo 1

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