Adu impressive in draw

CARSON, Calif. — Freddy Adu had a chance to culminate another week of incessant attention with his first professional goal, one that would have given D.C. United a dramatic victory over one of Major League Soccer’s perennial powers.

But Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman made a diving save in the final minute to preserve a 1-1 tie Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd of more than 27,000 at Home Depot Center.

The vast majority came to see Adu, the highly acclaimed 14-year-old offensive threat. He received a loud ovation after replacing Alecko Eskandarian in the 46th minute.

Among those in attendance were actor Robert Duvall, comedian Will Ferrell and about 2,000 fans who paid for standing-room tickets on a grassy bank underneath the scoreboard.

“Alecko was hurt a little bit before the game, and we didn’t want to take a risk,” United coach Peter Nowak said. “And I know Freddy was ready for 45 minutes.”

Adu played despite aggravating an injury to his right ankle in practice Wednesday, four days after making his professional debut.

“His ankle is still not 100 percent,” Nowak said. “But we wanted to give him a taste of playing Los Angeles, the toughest club in Major League Soccer.”

Seconds after entering, Adu received a forearm to the back of the head from defender Hong Myung-Bo, who played in the past four World Cups for South Korea.

Adu retaliated five minutes later by pushing Hong from behind while the defender allowed Earnie Stewart’s through ball to cross the end line untouched.

The young forward almost won the game in the 90th minute on his first shot as a professional. But Hartman dived to deflect Adu’s 8-yard shot away from the right post.

“This is the best I’ve felt in quite a while,” Adu said. “I felt like the old me. Last week, I had a lot of pressure on my back, and I didn’t play that well. Now, I’m back to really thinking about playing soccer.

“It was like, ’Why am I holding back?’ When you get the opportunity to get on the field, you’ve got to be aggressive and win balls for your team. Those are the little things the coaches see that’ll earn you more minutes, that help your team win.”

The Galaxy’s Carlos Ruiz, MLS’ two-time defending goal-scoring champion, forced the tie in the 85th minute. Ruiz secured a loose ball and fired a shot that sailed under the crossbar from the edge of the 18-yard penalty area.

Ronald Cerritos had put United ahead in the 68th minute, one minute after replacing Jaime Moreno. Cerritos volleyed Josh Gros’ left-wing cross into the upper-right corner of the net from 13 yards.

“We didn’t win one point; we lost two,” said Nowak, whose squad fired six shots on goal to the Galaxy’s two. “The team executed the game plan perfectly, but we have to finish our chances. We have to win these kind of games.”

Ryan Nelsen also left the game with an injury in the 85th minute, moments before Ruiz’s goal. The club will announce the status of both Nelsen and Eskandarian today, United communications director Doug Hicks said after the game.