D.C. United gets draw at St. Louis City

Despite the personnel issues, Troy Lesesne’s squad performed admirably after falling behind and even took the lead in the first half before clinging to a 2-2 draw at sold-out CityPark.

Ted Ku-DiPietro and Christian Benteke scored 17 minutes apart, but St. Louis pulled even after video replay resulted in a 70th-minute penalty kick. United (1-1-3) is winless in four straight, but there was no shame in earning a third tie in three away games.

“I’m really proud of our group,” Lesesne said. “We knew that we’d have some some different challenges going into this match. … We all made a very, very important choice, which was to focus our energy on, ‘How do we come to a place like this and get a result?’ And I think we could have gotten three points.”

The first meeting between an MLS founding member and the league’s newest team reunited players with their former clubs. During the offseason, United acquired center back Lucas Bartlett and midfielder Jared Stroud from St. Louis (1-0-4) for midfielder Chris Durkin.

Bartlett and Stroud, who have started every D.C. match, received a warm reception a half-hour before kickoff when the public address announcer welcomed them back. Both acknowledged the cheers from the supporters’ groups in the north end. Durkin, a key figure in St. Louis’s strong start, began his career in Washington at 16 in 2016.

United had 17 players in uniform, three fewer than normal. Of the six available substitutes, two were goalkeepers, two others had not played this season, and the other two had combined for 39 minutes.

The international call-ups were right back Aaron Herrera (Guatemala), defensive midfielder Matti Peltola (Finland), forward Kristian Fletcher and center back Matai Akinmboni (U.S. under-19 squad). Left back Pedro Santos missed the match after receiving a red card last week against Miami.

St. Louis was on the prowl right away, but United showed promising signs in the attack.

The host went ahead in the 19th minute. Indiana Vassilev’s corner kick connected with center back Joshua Yaro tucked between two D.C. players at the six-yard box for a sharp downward header past Alex Bono. Starting in place of injured Tim Parker, the former Georgetown star recorded his first goal in 42 MLS appearances.

United answered 80 seconds later. Stroud whipped in a cross from the right flank to Benteke for a powerful eight-yard header. Roman Bürki made an extraordinary reaction save, but Ku-DiPietro tapped in the rebound.

United went ahead in the 38th minute. On Conner Antley’s pass out of the back, Mateusz Klich flicked the ball through to Stroud on the right wing. Stroud’s low cross met the unmarked Benteke for his first goal since an opening-day hat trick.

“We came up with a game model that we wanted to play with, knowing we didn’t have a lot of players to get a result in this place,” Stroud said. “I know after playing here as a player, it’s a hard place to play.”

Benteke missed an opportunity to extend the lead early in the second half. As the match wore on, United was forced into absorbing more pressure.

St. Louis pulled even after referee Amin Hadzic used video replay to rule Antley had fouled Célio Pompeu just inside the box. João Klauss converted the penalty kick.

With United relying heavily on its starters, St. Louis Coach Bradley Carnell sent on five fresh bodies in a 24-minute span.

Scuffles and injury delays stalled the proceedings. United players required treatment several times and others sought to disrupt the game. The fans howled. On a cold night, the temperature between the teams was rising.

During almost 15 minutes of stoppage time, Bono made a brilliant kick save on Nokkvi Thorisson’s clear bid.

“We tried to make the game a little ugly and throw them off their rhythm a little bit,” Bono said. “It’s a credit to the coaching staff. They made a great game plan for us.”

Under the circumstances, United was comfortable leaving with one point.

“We have the mentality that we set out to have this year, which is we’re not going to back down from any opponent,” Lesesne said. “We’re going to come in and try to stay in our identity, but our identity is flexible. As you saw tonight, we can be aggressive from different points in the field.”

Here’s what else to know about United’s draw:

Center back Steven Birnbaum, United’s captain and longest-tenured player, is behind schedule in his recovery from preseason knee surgery. He figured to return around now.

“It’s been a little bit slower than everyone wants,” Lesesne said. “We’ve actually taken the timeline off the table. … We’re also not going to rush it and put him in a position that it’s just going to be a short-term gain for having him out again for another significant amount of time.”

Defensive midfielder Russell Canouse, D.C.’s second-longest-tenured player, also has yet to play after hurting an ankle in the preseason.

“We’re trying to evaluate that one to really determine what the timeline will be,” Lesesne said.

Because of United’s player shortage, Hayden Sargis was recalled from his loan to the second-division Las Vegas Lights. The 21-year-old defender is expected to return to Las Vegas next week.

Left back Mohanad Jeahze was named to the game day roster for the first time this season. He has recovered from a fractured and dislocated right ankle, suffered last summer, but does not seem to fit into Lesesne’s long-range plans.

Sargis did not play; Jeahze entered in the waning moments.