Munteanu brace propels D.C. United on the road against New York City FC
- Mario Amaya
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
D.C. United came into their match against New York City FC at Citi Field somewhat on high, after a dramatic back-and-forth with the New York Red Bulls on the road, and a last-minute victory against Orlando City at home. The Black-and-Red were looking to continue their good run of form.
D.C. would do just that as they walked away from Queens with a 2-0 victory over NYCFC, extending United's undefeated streak to four games (2 wins, 2 draws).
The Game
New York City would have the first goal-scoring chance of the game after a long clearance, which would fall to Agustín Ojeda in open space. Ojeda ran towards the box, releasing a shot that would just go wide of the net.
D.C. would get a chance to open the scoring a couple of minutes later, as Matti Peltola would win the ball in midfield and charge down the field. The Finnish international tried taking a shot from distance, but his shot was blocked, and the rebound would fall to Jackson Hopkins. He played the ball back to Branden Sarvania, who would try his luck from distance, testing Matt Freese, as he was able to keep the ball from going into the back of the net.
D.C. would have another opportunity from Louis Munteanu, who shot the ball from distance; his shot would just skip past the goal and out of play, but it certainly wouldn't be the last of Munteanu during the match.
D.C. would open up the scoring in the 29th minute after Jared Stroud won a throw-in. Stroud would take the throw-in deep into New York's box, the ball would bounce around the six-yard box, and the ball would find Munteanu near the goal. The Romanian international, with a simple touch, put the ball past Freese and into the back of the net to score his 2nd goal of the season.
New York nearly had a response in the 38th minute with a Nicolás Fernández Mercau free kick. The ball would go over the D.C. wall, forcing Sean Johnson to lunge in the air to avoid the ball from crossing the goal line and settle for a corner kick.
Munteanu nearly had his second of the game just two minutes before halftime. Once again, it would be a long throw-in, this time from Keisuke Kurokawa, that would find Munteanu inside the box, but his opportunity would fall into the hands of Freese, who corralled the ball to keep his team's deficit at one goal going into halftime.
Fernández Mercau tested Johnson once again with a shot from distance in the 58th minute, but the former NYCFC goalkeeper was equal to the shot, sending the ball away from danger.
D.C. nearly scored once again in the 72nd minute after a long clearance was mishandled by Freese, who was way off his line. The ball fell to Munteanu, who tried shooting towards the goal, but his attempt hit Freese and went out of play for a throw-in.
In the ensuing D.C. throw-in, the ball was heading in the direction of Lucas Bartlett, who seemed to go to the ground, and the ball found its way to the hands of Freese, but the referee of the match, Ismail Elfath, saw that NYCFC defender Keaton Parks wrapped up the D.C. captain on the play and pointed to the spot.
As the 75th minute ran, it would be Munteanu who stepped up to take the penalty. D.C.'s record signing did not miss from the spot and placed the right-hand side of a Freese who dove in the opposite direction to double the visitors' lead and the Romanian's 3rd goal of the season.
Sarvania was looking to get on the score sheet in stoppage time, with a shot from distance, but Freese would make a diving save to deny him and D.C. the third goal of the game. New York had a chance to cut back the deficit in stoppage time when a Kai Trewin floating header forced Johnson to make a one-handed save and send the ball out for a corner.
With this result, D.C. United now moves up to 5th place in the Eastern Conference, where they are tied with FC Cincinnati with 15 points, but hold a better goal differential over the Ohio outfit, while NYCFC is now in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Columbus Crew and the New York Red Bulls with 12 points, with a better goal differential over both teams.
D.C. United now travels to the "Music City" Nashville, TN, where they will take on Eastern Conference leaders Nashville SC at Geodis Park. The game will take place on Saturday, May 9th, with kickoff scheduled for 9:15 PM.
