July 14th,
2011: Exhibition Match
Hawks and DC United U-23s Play to a 1-1 Draw Hawks rally late and hold on after red card (Washington, D.C. – RFK Auxiliary Turf, 7:15PM)
The Hawks were honored to have been asked to play vs. Jamie Moreno's DC United's U-23 side in a weeknight match in mid July. A team filled with current college stars and recent grads from the ACC, Big East, and other of the area's best NCAA D1 programs, DC United was certainly the favorite in the fixture. Playing out of season, with limited practice time, while working in new faces - the match was sure to provide the Hawks a big challenge.
D.C. United scored first, on a nice buildup in the 57th minute that resulted in a tap-in by recent Loyola (Md.) grad Phil Bannister, who was drafted this year by MLS Cup champions Colorado Rapids, but fell just short of earning a contract. Lonnie Carter's pointed ball across the goal mouth was dummied by Georgetown and former Aegean Hawks member Seth C'deBaca to freeze the defense.
The Hawks ventured forward on several occasions after the goal, generating a few chances and went unrewarded until they popped up with an equalizer in the 82nd. Derek Markheim scored after darting across the back line from wide left to get onto a splitting pass by Carlos Garcia to flick a low ball past the onrushing goalie just before defensive cover arrived. A red card to Hawks' Meir Lewin just after the equalizer gave DC United the advantage in the last 10 minutes of the match. DC United and West Virginia stalwart Travis Pittman came close to securing a victory for the black and red with a shot that deflected off the post and another blast in the closing seconds.
