ST. LOUIS — Because MLS thumbs its nose at FIFA’s international breaks, D.C. United lost four players to national team assignments ahead of Saturday’s match against St. Louis City.
Toss in a red-card suspension and three injuries, and United faced a tall task against a second-year MLS organization well ahead of schedule and unaffected by call-ups.
Despite the personnel issues, Troy Lesesne’s squad performed admirably after falling behind and even took the lead in the first half before clinging to a 2-2 draw at sold-out CityPark.
Ted Ku-DiPietro and Christian Benteke scored 17 minutes apart, but the hosts pulled even after video replay resulted in a 70th-minute penalty kick.