On three separate occasions on Sunday afternoon, D.C. United took a lead against their bitter rivals, the . But after Paul Arriola scored in the first half, and Wayne Rooney scored halfway through the second, United gave away the lead, both times to goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips, who is the Red Bulls’ all-time leading scorer against the Black-and-Red.
When Luciano Acosta scored his 8th goal of the season in the 87th minute, there was a hope that there would be some finality to the scoring. All three points would have helped United keep pace with the Montreal Impact in the playoff race, sending United into a two week break on a high.