An unlucky handball in the box by D.C. United's Julius James was the difference between one point and none for the home team in this match.
If you don't follow MLS enough to know where these two teams find themselves in the standings, you probably would not have guessed that this match involved the first place team against the last place team. United played up to the competition of the Los Angeles Galaxy, but were ultimately defeated by the Galaxy's two biggest stars.
Edson Buddle opened the scoring for the night with his persistant efforts in the box to put away a loose ball after a sliding challenge by Dejan Jakovic broke up his first attempt. Buddle smoothly placed the ball in the net past defensive midfielder Stephen King and goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
United came back in the second half thanks to an outstanding free kick cross by newly acquired Argentinian forward Pablo Hernandez. His cross connected with the head of 5'-7" teenager Andy Najar, who out-leaped several Galaxy players to nod the ball in on target.
The final goal of the night was scored by defending MLS MVP and current international sensation Landon Donovan. Donovan converted a penalty kick after Sean Franklin's long range shot deflected off the hand of a sliding Julius James.
For our fan blog's reaction to the match, check out Black And Red United.