NYCFC's Benteke, DC United's Rodríguez trade PK goals in draw

WASHINGTON (AP) — D.C. United's Christian Benteke scored on a penalty kick in the second half after Santiago Rodríguez had a PK goal for New York City FC in the first and the two clubs played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night.

Benteke's league-leading 19th goal of the season came in the 67th minute and was set up after Theodore Ku-DiPietro drew a foul on NYCFC midfielder James Sands.

Rodríguez scored on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute as New York City took a 1-0 lead into halftime. Rodriguez's ninth goal of the season was set up when Kevin O'Toole drew a foul on DC United midfielder Pedro Santos.

Matt Freese totaled five saves in goal for NYCFC (11-10-7).

Alex Bono turned away two shots for DC United (8-12-9). Both keepers had one save in the first half.

NYCFC is 0-2-5 in its last seven matches.

DC United’s Mateusz Klich missed the match because of yellow-card accumulation, while Julián Fernández sat out for NYCFC after picking up a red card against the Columbus Crew last time out.

NYCFC leads all-time series 11-7-4 and has outscored DC United 41-25.

NYCFC returns home to play the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday. DC United travels to play the Philadelphia Union on Sunday.

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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer