ORLANDO — With six teams packed tightly behind the two pacesetters in MLS’s Eastern Conference, the slightest misstep or missed opportunity, one bad night or empty performance, promises to prove costly in the playoff scramble.
D.C. United began the weekend in third place but just three points from eighth, a fragile affair as Hernán Losada’s surging bunch arrived in Central Florida for a showdown with another side seeking breathing room above the seven-team postseason threshold.
Just as United was about to escape with a valuable away point, the visitors conceded Daryl Dike’s header in the seventh minute of stoppage time and dropped a 2-1 decision to Orlando City before an announced 16,848 at Exploria Stadium.