As the players took the field for the second half, D.C. coach Tom Soehn decided to replace Fred, who had been a non-factor in the first half, with Santino Quaranta.[1] In the 60th minute, Gomez, Pontius and Luciano Emilio combined inside Seattle's 18-yard box for a United opportunity, but Pontius mishit the shot, which resulted in an easy save for Seattle's goalkeeper, Kasey Keller.[31] Seven minutes later, another failed D.C. United opportunity resulted in a Sounders FC counterattack, where Freddie Ljungberg's shot was saved by Wicks.