DC United, Atlanta United struggle to find chances, play to 0-0 draw

Host Atlanta United and D.C. United ended their meeting on Saturday night the same way it started as the Eastern Conference foes played to a 0-0 draw.

Atlanta (1-3-1, 4 points) came into the night having picked up its first win of the season a week ago, a 3-1 victory against the Philadelphia Union to give Atlanta five goals over its previous two matches.

D.C. (2-2-1, 7 points), which snapped a two-match losing streak in its last outing, kept a clean sheet for the second time this season and for the first time since its season opener, a 1-0 win over the Union on Feb. 21.

Chances were at a premium for both sides as neither Atlanta's Lucas Hoyos nor D.C.'s Sean Johnson had much to do in their respective goals. In fact, the best chance of the first half for either side was a Cooper Sanchez's attempt just outside the box in the 13th minute that Johnson was able to deal with.

D.C., on its end, came close to the opening goal in the 61st minute after poor defending for Atlanta led to a flurry of activity in front of its own net. Hoyos, though, made a save on Jackson Hopkins' attempt.

In the 83rd minute, Caden Clark had a chance to put D.C. in front, but his attempt struck the right post. Then, in the 87th minute, Brandon Servania's long-range effort rang off the crossbar.

That was the final meaningful opportunity of the evening for both teams as they each walked off the pitch with a point apiece.

Atlanta held a 64.8% to 35.1% advantage in possession for the match and outshot D.C. 9-4. But it was held scoreless for the third time this season.

Hoyos ended the night with a single save en route to the first clean sheet of his MLS career. Johnson stopped both Atlanta shots he faced.