After disappointing results the past few weeks, D.C. United bounced back to winning ways after
Christian Benteke and Hosei Kijima each scored a goal in the first-half stoppage time on Saturday night to help beat the Colorado Rapids 2-1.
This is D.C. United’s first win after weeks of uninspiring results since it beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 in the first week of March.

A deflection of David Schnegg’s curved pass in stoppage time of the first half set up Benteke’s header near the back post in the fourth minute. Three minutes in, Kijima expertly dodged Peltola, unleashing a volley past Steffen into the net, putting D.C. ahead with a 2-1 lead at halftime.
In the 43rd minute, Darren Yapi of Colorado scored the first goal with a close-range header. Goalkeeper Luis Barraza blocked Rafael Navarro’s shot from the right, a counter-attack attempt, Navarro grabbed the rebound at the goal line, then sent a cross to Yapi, who scored from the far post.
In a post-game interview, D.C. United’s coach, Troy Lesesne, celebrated his team’s rapid turnaround and expressed optimism about maintaining that mental strength.
“When you go down one nil, and you’ve had the better of the chances and the better of the game, and you’ve been in a difficult spot five out of the last six weeks, it would be easy for the group to roll over,” Lesesne said. “And so when you talk about grit, relentlessness, determination, being resilient, our group just displayed that.”
With this loss, the Rapids’ three-game unbeaten run is over, leaving them with a 4-3-4 record.