Off he went, long strides carrying him some 60 yards to celebrate his first pro goal with his coaches and support staff on the sideline.

But like everything else on this afternoon, disappointment followed. Pines’s apparent goal was nullified by video replay, and near the end of an uninspiring second-half performance by the visitors, United conceded a late score and fell, 1-0.

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The result ended a four-game unbeaten streak on the road by D.C. (5-3-2) and dropped it into a tie for first place in MLS’s Eastern Conference with Montreal (5-3-2), which won Sunday.

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D.C. enjoyed a good first half before losing its way after intermission and allowing Angelo Rodriguez’s goal in the 82nd minute. Before a sellout crowd of 19,620, Minnesota (4-3-2) celebrated the first victory after two draws at its gorgeous new stadium.

“We weren’t threatening enough in the second half,” D.C. Coach Ben Olsen said. “Their energy increased, and ours stayed the same. I blame part of that on some tired legs.”

D.C. played its third match in eight days, and Minnesota was fighting through its third in 10. Beyond the energy shortage, Olsen’s gang was slow building out of its end and seemed out of sync when it attempted to connect short passes.

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D.C. was credited with 13 shots but just one on target, a bid by Lucas Rodriguez that figured into the ruling to deny Pines his first goal.

Goalkeeper Vito Mannone made a tremendous save on Rodriguez’s blast from the top of the penalty area. The rebound caromed to Wayne Rooney on the right side for a well-placed chip into the heart of the box. Pines rose above everyone and nodded the ball into the net, but in the chaos of the moment, D.C.'s Frederic Brillant placed his left hand on Mannone’s right upper arm.

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“Light” is the way Brillant later described the contact. Referee Nima Saghafi checked the video.

While both teams waited for a verdict, Pines said he was thinking: “Please, please don’t call it back. Please don’t call it back. ... I thought I deserved that goal.”

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Saghafi ruled Brillant had interfered with Mannone’s attempt to reach the ball, although in all likelihood, he would not have beaten Pines to it.

“I don’t think it’s a foul,” Brillant said.

D.C. never came close to scoring again during its fifth scoreless outing of the year. The club has scored 13 goals, and five came in a blowout of Real Salt Lake in its third match.

Goals are hard to come by when a team does not have much quality possession, and D.C. was relinquishing too much territorial advantage to the hosts Sunday. Minnesota’s goal, Rooney said, became inevitable.

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“Everyone watching the game could see the goal was coming and could see how the goal was going to come — from a cross from their fullback," he said. "It was coming for 15 to 20 minutes. We deserved to concede it.”

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It came when right back Romain Metanire drove a cross toward the near post. Pines battled with Rodriguez, and although the attacker was credited with the goal, it might have skipped past both players without being touched before bounding into the far corner.

“It was fortunate for him, unfortunate for me,” Pines said, “and just an unfortunate scenario all over.”

D.C.'s Bill Hamid had made a terrific save in the 60th minute, touching substitute Miguel Ibarra’s rising rocket over the crossbar. But with fatigue growing and ideas fading, United lost its fizz and labored to take charge.

Movement was slow, passing was off, and quality chances did not materialize. On the last opportunity in stoppage time, Rooney lobbed a wayward corner kick onto the roof of the net.

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“As I keep saying after games, we need to learn from some performances,” Rooney said. “Today we didn’t learn. Again in the second half, it seems to be a mental thing where we come out and we’re hanging on. There was space for us to play; we rushed it a bit too much at times.”

United’s frustration spilled over in the first half, when playmaker Luciano Acosta and winger Paul Arriola exchanged words. Teammates needed to intervene. Asked whether he was troubled by the incident, Olsen said: “Not really, not if it isn’t an issue afterward. Things like that happen.”

“Of course, you don’t want teammates arguing — that’s not what anyone wants — but you can look and say it’s because they care, they want to win," added Rooney, the captain. "They’re both fine. They were fine at halftime, and they were fine at the end of the game.”