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Jason Kreis had no comment, but Real Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert had plenty to say about his foul in the 85th minute that gave D.C. United a penalty kick and morphed a cruise-control win into a crash-test tie.

RSL led 1-0 when D.C. United forward Charlie Davies sprinted toward the goal, leading a counterattack.

Wingert stepped, and then slid, to halt Davies. Davies went tumbling, referee Terry Vaughn threw up his arm, and Davies climbed off the turf and marched directly to the box, where he booted a penalty kick under the arm of diving RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

Wingert said, "It wasn't even close."

As he saw the foul, Davies kicked the ball away and jumped to avoid contact.

"He even looked at me," Wingert said, "and was kind of like smiling. He knew. He said, 'That's football.' That's what he told me."

Wingert labeled the call as "laughable" and said, "That's happened with [Davies] a couple of times this year."

Davies, a former national team player, has converted four penalty kicks this season, and D.C. has made six overall. In contrast, Fabian Espindola gave RSL its second of the season in the 38th minute after a United hand ball in the box.

Davies, now second in the MLS with seven goals, came on in the 62nd minute for United.

Kreis said, "Um, no comment," when asked specifically about the foul on Wingert, but later comments made it clear he was unhappy.

Kreis said the goal didn't match a trend of RSL's defense allowing late opportunities because "that was a one-off — if you know what I mean" and that his team was "at the mercy of the referee's decision."

In a written statement, Vaughn said, "In the 83rd minute, a tripping foul was committed by Real Salt Lake within their own penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick."

What might have been a shot in the arm turned into a blow to RSL's spirit.

Any talk about doing better at preventing the counterattack or any other piece of soccer minutiae inevitably turned back to the call that swung the game.

"The referees are trying their best," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "Just like in soccer, sometimes it's not good enough."

Angry RSL

• RSL gives up a penalty kick for just the second time this season.

• Defender Chris Wingert terms a critical foul call "laughable."

• D.C.'s Charlie Davies scores on a penalty kick for the fourth time this season.