Dom Dwyer scored in the seventh minute and Sporting Kansas City beat D.C. United 1-0 Friday night to move to the top of Major League Soccer's overall points standings.
Jimmy Nielsen needed just one clutch save to record his league-leading 13th shutout for Sporting (16-10-7). Kansas City is two points ahead of New York and Portland, who both play on Saturday.
United (3-23-7) saw their winless streak reach 18 games and need to win their season finale against Houston on Oct. 27 to avoid finishing with the fewest wins in the league's 18 seasons.
Dwyer's goal came after United defender Perry Kitchen misplayed a back pass and had the ball taken away by Sporting's Peterson Joseph. Joseph passed to Dwyer, who drove past goalkeeper Bill Hamid and shot into the open net for his second goal of the year.
Jared Jeffrey nearly equalized in the 15th minute, getting free on Nielsen for a 1-on-1 after a through ball from Chris Pontius, but Nielsen didn't bite on Jeffrey's feints and turned away his shot from close range.
