D.C. United tried to blow it on Saturday night, but Maicon Santos was not letting it happen. After going up 2-0, D.C. allowed the New England Revolution to equalize, but then Santos struck with the winning goal to put D.C. atop the Eastern Conference table.
D.C. has made a habit of starting quickly and they did so against New England, getting a 15th minute goal from Brandon McDonald. The centerback was able to get to a free kick and flick a header over Matt Reis and under the bar for the opening tally.
McDonald's central defense partner was responsible for the second goal, as Dejan Jakovic got to a loose ball in front of goal and poked it home. With a 2-0 lead, it looked like D.C. would cruise.
Coming out of halftime, New England looked like a whole new team. They played with the energy they lacked in the first half and it paid off in the 48th minute when Benny Feilhaber's shot was saved by Bill Hamid, but Saer Sene got to the rebound and knocked it in.
Two minutes later, all the hard work that D.C. put in the first half was gone. A.J. Soares got his head to a corner kick and redirected it in to equalize for the Revs. 45 minutes of work gone in two minutes.
All the momentum was on the Revs' side, but apparently nobody told Santos and Dwayne De Rosario. Santos gathered the ball and did well to avoid two defenders before feeding De Rosario on the left, who decided against shooting and instead fed Santos for the easy finish on what would prove to be the game-winner.