D.C. United's first foray into Northern Virginia in its 15-season franchise history didn't exactly offer many surprises, at least aside from Luciano Emilio getting briefly knocked out by Richmond goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale. If nothing else, U.S. Open Cup matches always seem to have something bizarre or outlandish or a major injury.

The night belonged to Jaime Moreno, who overcame a spongy, tight surface at George Mason and his own howler of a miss late in the first half to score the first goal and set up the second. Game story here.

Santino Quaranta, the beneficiary of Moreno's passing for the second goal, summed up what Moreno has gone through this season nicely: "Jaime’s one my best friends, and we’ve talked a lot this year after games and him not playing. He’s my roommate on the road sometimes, and he’s a professional guy. I have a lot of respect for him. He doesn’t bring any type of poison in the locker room, and it’d be easy for a guy like that, especially for Jaime and what he’s done here, to get frustrated and not come out and perform, put his head down. He’s not that guy. He’s our captain. He’s a good friend, a good teammate. He helps the young guys. You can’t say enough about him. If I was in that situation, I don’t know how I’d handle it. He’s handled it great."

United is now 6-1-1 in its last eight matches, be it exhibition or regular season or whatever. 

"The last six, seven games, we felt we’ve got some momentum," said assistant coach Kris Kelderman. "We’ve got better results, and you want to keep that going, regardless of who you play and when you play."