Faryd Mondragon

WASHINGTON - For the second game in a row, the Union played a wide-open offensive affair, but, unlike last week's 3-2 win over visiting Chivas USA, this time they settled for a draw. Carlos Ruiz's goal in the 84th minute helped the Union escape with a 2-2 tie Saturday against a new-look D.C. United at RFK Stadium. The Union twice came back from one-goal deficits. "That's why we have Carlos Ruiz, to score goals like that," said Union team manager Peter Nowak, who has been annoyed at criticism of his forward.

HOUSTON - With key additions, the Union are expected to be a more formidable offensive team this year. But it was the unlikeliest of players who jump-started both the offense and the season. Defender Danny Califf, who went scoreless in 28 games last season, scored the Union's first goal of the season in the fifth minute on Saturday night. The goal stood up as the Union began their second Major League Soccer season with a chippy, 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo in front of a crowd of 19,385 at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston.

It was a chance for young players to gain some experience and for veterans to get a breather in this long season for the Union, and Roger Torres took advantage of his extended time. The 20-year-old midfielder played the entire game in the Union's 1-0 win over English Premier League club Everton during Wednesday's friendly at PPL Park before a sellout crowd of 18,582. Christian Hernandez's blast from just inside the box in the 88th minute was the game's lone goal. Torres, who was the Union's most impressive player, hit teammates with long pinpoint passes and constantly pushed the ball on the attack.

There was an even greater buzz than usual at sold-out PPL Park on Saturday night, with the Freddy Adu era beginning for the Union after the attacking midfielder signed with the team and participated in his first practice Friday. Even though Adu stole the pregame spotlight, he later was upstaged by teammate Sebastien Le Toux, along with Dallas midfielder Brek Shea early and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman late. Le Toux scored twice on penalty kicks, Shea concluded a stellar week in the Philadelphia area by scoring one goal and creating plenty of pressure, and Hartman came up with two difficult saves late in the game as the Union and Dallas played to a 2-2 draw before a crowd of 18,881.

The Union were more than respectable in going 8-15-7 during their inaugural Major League Soccer season. Close observers, however, said they would have achieved a better record if they had had steady goaltending. While the defense was also inconsistent, especially early in the season, goalie Chris Seitz, who was supposed to be the hope of the franchise, didn't come through. After the season, the 23-year-old Seitz was claimed by Seattle in the reentry draft and later traded to FC Dallas.

FRESH OFF scoring his first goal of the season, Union captain Carlos Valdes was rewarded with his first MLS All-Star appearance. Valdes, 27, will be the lone representative for the Union when MLS' best challenge Chelsea on July 25 at PPL Park (8:30 p.m., ESPN2). Selected as one of two picks by MLS commissioner Don Garber, Valdes joins Sebastien Le Toux (2010) and goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon (2011) as all-time Union all-stars. Le Toux and Mondragon are no longer members of the team.

ESPN play-by-play man Glenn Davis called it "the most expensive match in Major League Soccer history. " Davis was referring to last Saturday's late-night pairing between Red Bull New York and the Los Angeles Galaxy, which the Union will host tonight at PPL Park. Five designated players between the two teams and a combined club salary average closing in on $440,000 per player battled to a 1-1 tie at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. It's an expense that towers over the current average salary of the Union ($131,876)

When the Union opens its second season tomorrow night, it will do so with a revamped roster. In the offseason, the team has added 11 fresh faces to the fray and sent 12 packing. Here's a rundown of players who make up the new look: Faryd Mondragon Age: 39 Position: Goalkeeper For kicks: Mondragon brings more than a decade of both national team (Colombia) and European experience to a position that last year yearned for more security. Zac MacMath Age: 19 Position: Goalkeeper For kicks: A U.S. Under-20 international, MacMath is young, but is being groomed behind Mondragon to be the future of the Union at the goalkeeper position.

"The whole is more than the sum of its parts. " - Aristotle   IN THE CASE OF the defensive corps of the Union, it has been the sum of many parts making up a whole that has been virtually unstoppable. Faryd Mondragon, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes, Jordan Harvey and Sheanon Williams have allowed just two goals in five MLS games. Mondragon has been near perfect; his 0.40 goals-against average sits just behind Real Salt Lake's Nick Rimando (0.33 GAA) for best in the league.

BOYDS, Md. - They say your first instinct is usually the correct one. That wasn't the case in the Union's 3-2 overtime loss to D.C. United last night in a penalty kick shootout in the play-in round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Carlos Valdes, the lifeblood of the Union's defense this season was ejected in the 86th minute after losing his cool on a throw-in decision in United's favor. Valdez hurled the ball down the sideline in frustration, earning a red card. Here's one for the conspiracy theorists: Referee Andrew Chapin, according to Union manager Peter Nowak, was the same official who tossed Valdes against Orlando City during a preseason scrimmage this year.