Chris Rolfe gets first goal of season with free kick

Washington, D.C. (April 18, 2015) – D.C. United (3-1-2, 11 points) maintained a share of first place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo (2-2-3, 9 points).

Chris Rolfe put United ahead in the first half on a free kick, and Ricardo Clark tied the game in the second. Andrew Dykstra made his first start of 2015 in goal when Bill Hamid missed the match due to a thigh contusion.

United extended its unbeaten streak at RFK Stadium to 15 straight games in all competitions, including 11 consecutive in league play.

D.C. United returns to action on the road against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday, April 25 (Comcast SportsNet, 10:30).

• D.C. United is unbeaten in four straight matches and off to its best start since 2006, ties for its second-best start in club history. In 2006, the team was also 3-1-2 (11 points) after six matches. In 1997, the team was 5-1 (13 points) after six matches.
• D.C. United is 6-13-3 all-time against Houston, and 5-4-2 at RFK Stadium.
• D.C. United is unbeaten in two straight games against Houston at RFK Stadium.
• D.C. United is 3-0-2 in 2015 when scoring first.
• D.C. United played its 300^th regular season game at RFK Stadium.
• Chris Rolfe scored his first goal of 2015, the 55th of his career, tying him for seventh among active MLS players and 29^th all-time.
• Andrew Dykstra made his first regular season start of 2015, and his first regular season start since June 11, 2014, in a 4-2 victory at Montreal. It was his 22^nd career regular season start.
• Head Coach Ben Olsen’s overall record is now 52-65-37. He is 3-8-2 against Houston.
• Bobby Boswell made his 60^th consecutive regular season start. Boswell has 40 consecutive starts since his return to D.C. United in 2014.
• D.C. United made one change to the starting lineup from the previous game against New York, with Andrew Dykstra replacing Bill Hamid: Dykstra, Kemp, Opare, Boswell, Franklin, Rolfe, Arnaud, Kitchen, Farfan, Pontius, Arrieta.
• Rookie Miguel Aguilar made his second appearance of 2015, his first appearance since the opening game of the season.
• Rookie goalkeeper Travis Worra was on the active roster for the first time this season.

Match photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oug7s2sp2y15vl5/Se_MDe4sFG

Highlights:

• Rolfe goal: http://www.dcunited.com/news/2015/04/goal-chris-rolfe-rockets-a-free-kick-into-the-upper-90
• Clark goal: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2015-04-18-dc-united-vs-houston-dynamo/details/video/36418

D.C. United (3-1-2, 11 points) vs. Houston Dynamo (2-2-3, 9 points)

MLS regular season
April 18, 2015 – RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Attendance: 13,047

Goals by Period                     1          2       Total

D.C. United                                1          0         1

Houston                                      0          1          1

Scoring Summary:

• DC: Chris Rolfe 1 36’
• HOU: Ricardo Clark 1 65’

Misconduct Summary:

• HOU: Ricardo Clark (foul) 9’
• DC: Perry Kitchen (foul) 50’

D.C. United lineup:
Andrew Dykstra; Taylor Kemp, Kofi Opare, Bobby Boswell, Sean Franklin; Chris Rolfe (Miguel Aguilar 80’), Davy Arnaud, Perry Kitchen, Michael Farfan (Luis Silva 71’); Chris Pontius, Jairo Arrieta (Nick DeLeon 58’)
Unused Substitutes: Travis Worra, Conor Doyle, Jared Jeffrey, Chris Korb

Houston lineup:
Tyler Deric; Kofi Sarkodie, Memo Rodriguez, Jermaine Taylor, DaMarcus Beasley; Alexander López (Rob Lovejoy 80’), Luis Garrido (Will Bruin 46’, Chandler Hoffman 90+2’), Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis, Nathan Sturgis; Giles Barnes
Unused Substitutes: Joe Willis, David Horst, Leonel Miranda, Alex

Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Assistant Referees: Brian Dunn, Eric Weisbrod
Fourth Official: Jair Marrufo