Burch lifts United

BOYDS, Md. | It took a while for Marc Burch to get going Tuesday night, but once the D.C. United defender did, he was hard to stop.

Burch scored goals on two late free kicks, lifting United to a 2-0 win over the USL first-division Rochester Rhinos in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup before 2,752 at the Maryland Soccerplex.

“He hit the ball like nobody’s business,” United coach Tom Soehn said. “It was a real asset to us.”

Burch was one of many reserves in a juggled United lineup as Soehn tried to rest those who had played major roles in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Soehn sat midfielders Fred and Clyde Simms in the first half, placing Ryan Cordeiro and Dan Stratford in their stead, and substituted forward Francis Doe for Jaime Moreno, midfielder Rod Dyachenko for Marcelo Gallardo and Burch for the injured Santino Quaranta.

The restructured lineup resulted in a scoreless first half. United - the second highest-scoring team in MLS headed into Tuesday’s match - controlled the tempo for the majority of the first 45 minutes and had seven shots on goal. But four offside calls nullified prime scoring opportunities.

Striker Luciano Emilio and Doe both came close to finding the back of the net, but Emilio’s laser shot inched just over the crossbar, and Doe’s attempt was tipped away by Rhinos goalkeeper Scott Vallow.

Soehn shifted his deck to start the second half, subbing Fred for Emilio, Simms for Stratford and Craig Thompson for Gonzalo Martinez.

The lineup changes had little effect at first, with Fred missing high on a wide-open shot in the 48th minute.

Rochester forward Mauricio Salles had a chance to break the stalemate soon after, sending a shot that barely missed the inside of the far post.

Overtime seemed imminent as the teams exchanged possession late into the second half. Then a foul on Fred gave Burch his first free kick, which he lined low and past Vallow. Rochester barely had time to regroup before Burch was at it again.

“The first one I meant to try to hit it as hard as I could,” said Burch, who had a 35-yard free kick clank off the crossbar Sunday when he played 63 minutes after Quaranta went down with a hamstring injury. “I was fortunate on the second one. We were really controlling the play but weren’t getting any real chances. I was just thinking, ’Please don’t go to extra time.’ I was tired.”

No one was happier than Soehn, who did not want to see his club quash the momentum from Sunday’s blowout victory.

“It wasn’t as pretty as it could have been, by no means,” Soehn said. “We learned a lot today.”

The victory stretched United’s unbeaten streak to seven games and earned them a trip to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup. United will face the Chicago Fire on July 8 at the Soccerplex. Chicago defeated the Cleveland City Stars of USL2 on Tuesday night.

After playing two matches in 48 hours, Soehn is looking forward to some much-needed down time.

“We have some time to recover now with the weekend,” Soehn said. “It’s about getting some guys some rest. We didn’t want to run those guys too long today.”