Union win their debut on Le Toux's hat trick

Union forward Sebastien Le Toux may be called Le Trois after a memorable first Major League Soccer home game in Philadelphia.

A forward from France who scored just one goal last year for the Seattle Sounders FC, Le Toux supplied a hat trick, including a 23-yard blast on a free kick in the 80th minute to snap a 2-2 tie and give the Union a 3-2 win over D.C. United on Saturday night before 34,870 at Lincoln Financial Field.

"Last year I played some midfield in Seattle and this year I am playing forward, and today it felt great to score three goals," Le Toux said. "I was able to finish my chances."

It was a day of pageantry with Vice President Biden participating in pregame ceremonies. With the added security, many fans missed the first half of the first half.

"We apologize to all of our fans who had to wait a little longer to get inside the stadium," Union president Tom Veit said. "Because of lines in security for the vice president's visit, it took us a little longer than anticipated.

This was also a day when the news went beyond the scope of soccer with Union team manager Peter Nowak, a native of Poland, deciding not to coach on the field. Nowak was respectfully acknowledging the fatal airline crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 96 others Saturday morning in Russia.

The Union were coached by assistant John Hackworth. Nowak attended the game, but watched from a booth.

Nowak was a longtime friend of one of the victims, Piotr Nurowski, the current head of the Polish Olympic Committee.

"It was not a tough decision," Nowak said. "It was the only way I can show respect to those people who I know, who are friends of mine, who died today. They have canceled all activities around Poland. I cannot be with them. This is all I can do."

Nowak didn't totally divorce himself from the proceedings. According to Hackworth, the two were in constant communication.

"He was up high giving information what he sees, and we were communicating," Hackworth said.

Without the heroics of Le Toux, this would have been a long day for Union goalie Chris Seitz, who literally dropped the ball, allowing United back into the game.

Leading by 2-1 and preparing to punt, Seitz was distracted by Washington forward Jaime Moreno, who will never receive a better gift.

Seitz dropped the ball in front of Moreno, who easily shot it into the back of the net to tie the score in the 68th minute.

"I went to clear the ball, he took a jab at me, stepped in front of me, and I was caught between two lines," Seitz said. "The ball dropped and things happen . . . and I'm happy my team was able to pick up the pieces."

Le Toux's game-winner came after D.C. United's Dejan Jakovic was given a red card and ejected for a tackle on Alejandro Moreno in the 78th minute that Eagles defensive back Asante Samuel would have been proud of.

D.C. United had to play a man short the rest of the way, and Le Toux broke the tie on the ensuing free kick from 23 yards out.

"I saw a hole on the left side and hit it strong and was lucky," Le Toux said.

Seitz wasn't as fortunate, allowing a goal on a 25-yard blast by Santino Quaranta that cut the lead to 2-1 in the 63d minute.

According to Seitz, he was following the shot, but was thrown off when it was deflected off the back of teammate Michael Orozco.

The Union applied offensive pressure from the opening tap. United goalie Troy Perkins made a diving save on a free kick by Roger Torres before many of the fans got into their seats. Torres, the 18-year-old midfielder, was among the game's top players, constantly creating chances.

United failed to clear, and Alejandro Moreno ran down the ball and fed Torres, whose service to the near post was headed in by Le Toux in the fourth minute for the first goal in franchise history.

After failing to show much offense in their opening 2-0 loss on March 25 at Seattle, the Union got some much-needed confidence from the early goal.

In the 40th minute, Alejandro Moreno sent a long through ball to Le Toux, who scored from 20 yards out.

The game appeared to be on the way to becoming a laugher because D.C. United (0-3) had shown few signs of offensive life until that brief spurt in the second half.

Then Le Toux capped off his big day with his third goal, putting the finishing touches on an eventful home opener.