Chris Rolfe scored for the Chicago Fire and Sebastian Rozental converted a penalty kick for the Columbus Crew in a 1-1 tie Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
The Fire (0-1-2) and Crew (0-2-1) both were seeking their first wins of the year in the Crew's home opener.
Chicago scored first when Rolfe notched his second goal of the season, a left-footed shot that went between the legs of Crew goalkeeper Jon Busch in the 49th minute.
Chad Barrett started the scoring play with a long run on the ball, unchallenged until he reached the top of the Crew penalty area. Barrett then passed to Rolfe, who had slipped past the Crew defensive line.
Five minutes later, referee Erich Simmons called for a Crew penalty kick when Kei Kamara was taken down in the penalty area by Fire defender Jim Curtin. Rozental converted the penalty in the 55th minute, beating Fire goalkeeper Zack Thornton, who dove to his right but failed to get a hand on the shot.
The goal was Rozental's first for the Crew and came after he was sent to Los Angeles for nine days of specialized training following concerns about his fitness level.
Both teams managed only one shot on goal apiece in the first half, and both came in the 25th minute when Fire midfielder Thiago tested Busch with a hard, low left-footed strike. Busch made the save, and the Crew countered immediately when midfielder Danny Szetela sent a well-timed pass to forward Eddie Gaven.
Gaven's strike was turned away by a leaping Thornton, who became the 30th player in MLS history to play in 200 regular-season matches.
Second-half substitute Jason Garey tested Thornton with a strike from 15 yards in second half stoppage time, but Thornton gathered up the ball to keep the game deadlocked.
The announced attendance of 20,818 was the largest for Columbus at home since the 2004 season.
UNITED 2, DYNAMO 0: At Washington, Joshua Gros and Christian Gomez each scored their first goals of the season to lead D.C. United (2-0-1), which has played its first three matches at home and is off to its best start since 1999. Gros put in a rebound after Jaime Moreno one-timed Gomez's inswinging free kick off Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad in the 25th minute. Gomez scored in the 71st minute when his 25-yard shot from another free kick deflected off the top of Houston's defensive wall and past Onstad. Houston (1-2-0) lost its second straight without suspended forward Dwayne De Rosario (red card).
WIZARDS 1, REVOLUTION 0: At Kansas City, Mo., Jimmy Conrad, making his season debut, scored on a header off a corner kick in the 4th minute as Kansas City (3-0-0) got its first shutout and opened with three wins for the first time in franchise history. Conrad, playing for the first time since surgery trepaired a double sports hernia on March 31, jumped high in the air to get Jack Jewsbury's corner kick and headed a high-arching shot from about 10 yards out.
RAPIDS 2, FC DALLAS 2: At Denver, Clarence Goodson knocked the ball into his own goal three minutes into first half stoppage time to help the Colorado salvage a tie with FC Dallas. Greg Vanney opened the scoring on a direct free kick from about 27 yards out in the 5 minute, and Roberto Mina gave Dallas (2-0-1) a 2-0 lead 20 minutes later. Jovan Kirovski scored on a penalty kick, awarded after Goodson handled the ball with his arm, in the 39th minute for Colorado (1-1-1).