D.C. tops Marathon 3-0 to re-ignite CCL chances
9/24/2009 - WASHINGTON –Luciano Emilo scored a pair of second-half goals and to give D.C. United a 3-0 victory over Marathon Thursday night, re-igniting the U.S. Major League Soccer club’s chances of reaching the quarterfinals in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The result left both D.C. United and Marathon, the only Central American club to advance to the knockout stage last year, with six points, six behind Group B leader Toluca with two matches remaining. The Mexican side has all but clinched its place in the quarterfinals, but needed a win or draw by Marathon on Thursday to assure itself of joining Cruz Azul in the final eight.
Only two teams from each group advance. If D.C. and Marathon finished tied on points, D.C. would advance on goal difference, having scored in a 3-1 loss in Honduras on August 19. Marathon was coming off a 7-0 thrashing by Toluca last week in Mexico.
Despite playing without several regulars due to chronic injury problems, D.C. was the more aggressive from the start. Luciano Emilio put a final touch wide from the edge of the goal box in the sixth minute after being sent in from combination play by Santino Quaranta and Chris Pontius.
Emilio volleyed a corner kick high in the 19th and Rodney Wallace was high with a header in the 32nd. D.C. goalkeeper Josh Wicks needed a diving save to his right to punch wide Carlos Mejia’s 23-meter drive in the 14th and had to tap Arnol Solorzano’s free kick from 30 meters over the bar in the 42nd in Marathon’s best opportunities of the first 45 minutes.
D.C. coach Tommy Soehn made a fortuitous substitution two minutes before halftime, replacing rookie Tiyiselani Shipalane with Moreno, who made an impact almost immediately to start the second half.
D.C. continued to create chances and finally converted in the 47th when Pontius sprinted in from his left side position and Avery John pushed up from his defensive spot to find time and space. His low driven cross found Emilio, who put himself between Mario Beata and Mario Berrios, leaping from the edge of the goal box to drive a header back across just inside the left post.
Eight minutes later, Emilio worked his way free on the right edge of the penalty area and sent a cross that Quaranta dropped into the path of Moreno, who used his left foot to strike the side netting from 10 meters.
Emilio capped his performance with a second goal in the 71st, taking a ball from Ben Olsen 45 yards from goal, turning and driving on Marathon keeper Juan Obelar before scoring.
Marathon will host Toluca next week before finishing away against San Juan Jabloteh on October 22. D.C. will host Jabloteh next week before completing its Group Stage schedule against Toluca on October 20.
DCU - 31 J. Wicks, 3 A. John (Yellow 26), 15 L. Vaughn (8 D. McTavish 70th), 2 J. James, 14 B. Olsen (5 D. Jakovic 75th), 19 C. Simms, 25 S. Quaranta, 22 R. Wallace, 13 C. Pontius, 21 T. Shipalane (99 J. Moreno 43rd), 11 L. Emilio.
