The cards were flying on Saturday as D.C. United took on Charlotte FC at home. In a stunning turn, D.C. United picked up two straight red cards in the first half, losing two players within a nine-minute span.
In the 21st minute, goalkeeper Luis Barraza went to grab the ball to keep Charlotte from a dangerous situation, but got his hands on it about a foot outside the goal box. The action, under the International Football Association Board’s Laws of the Game, is considered a denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, or DOGSO, and Barraza was sent off.
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United was then forced to burn an early substitute, taking out starting defender David Schnegg to bring on backup goalkeeper Jordan Farr.
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Then, in the 30th minute, winger Aaron Herrera got a red of his own. Herrera got tangled up with Charlotte star forward Wilfried Zaha while the two grappled for the ball, with Zaha eventually ending up on the ground.
Herrera and Zaha started bickering as a result of the contact, with Herrera headbutting Zaha in the chest during the row — another straight red card offense, categorized as violent conduct.
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Charlotte was awarded a free kick as a result of the red. After some passing, Zaha curled the ball into the net to give Charlotte a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute.
D.C. then had to play with only nine players on the field for the rest of the game, playing more than 60 minutes down two men.
Though there weren’t any more reds, the game stayed a little chippy after that: Two more players, Charlotte defender Nathan Byrne and 21-year-old D.C. midfielder Jackson Hopkins were given yellow cards before the end of halftime. In the second half, D.C. substitute Jared Stroud, Zaha and Charlotte midfielder Eryk Williamson were also carded.
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A win against Charlotte was a bit of a long shot for D.C., which sits dead last in the Eastern Conference and has the worst record in all of MLS. Charlotte, meanwhile, is sitting in third place, within a few games of the top spot in the conference.
