United Retains Its Title 2-1 Triumph Over Colorado Caps Second Mls Season

Once again, D.C. United reigned in the rain.

In a steady, daylong shower reminiscent of last year’s inaugural Major League Soccer title game, United repeated as champions Sunday with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids in MLS Cup ‘97.

Before a noisy crowd of 57,431 at RFK Stadium, Jaime Moreno scored in the 37th minute and Tony Sanneh in the 68th as United (26-11), clearly the best team in the league all season, dominated the Rapids (18-19), who had the worst record of any playoff team and reached the MLS Cup by pulling off four straight upsets.

At times, United, with eight national team players on its roster, seemed almost spoiled for scoring chances. United had seven corner kicks and at least six quality scoring opportunities inside the box in the first half alone.

By contrast, the Rapids had no corner kicks and only one shot inside the box before halftime as the United back four of Eddie Pope, David Vaudreuil, Carlos Llamosa and Jeff Agoos refused to let the Rapids finish a set play. Only after United suffered a defensive letdown after taking a 2-0 lead did substitute Adrian Paz put the Rapids on the board in the 75th minute.

The attendance, no doubt hurt by the weather, was 581 short of the stadium record.