Carl Robinson, right, and TFC could not catch up to Marcello Gallardo and quick-striking United. (Getty Images)
WASHINGTON -- Despite a fresh new face in the starting 11 and a stellar performance from a returning one, Toronto FC was no match for D.C. United, surrendering two goals in the first five minutes on their way to a 4-1 loss at RFK Stadium.
Toronto played the final 68 minutes of the match shorthanded after Kevin Harmse was ejected for a hard tackle. The only consolation for the Reds came two minutes from the end when Maurice Edu scoring TFC's first goal of the season, looping a header over the diving Zach Wells.
From the outset, the TFC defense had few answers for Luciano Emilio, last season's Golden Boot winner for the most goals in the league, who scored his first goal of this season and was menacing the entire match.
The score could have been worse were it not for a brilliant performance by goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who was under siege from the opening kick. It was Sutton's first start of the season after being out since last June 17, recovering from a concussion.
Toronto is now 0-4 against United in their first two seasons of play, having scored only two goals in those matches.
Newly acquired Frenchman Laurent Robert showed individual snippets of superb play with his teammates, despite only being with the club a few days. The former French international came to terms with Toronto late last week being released from his contract with Derby County of the English Premiership.
Before Toronto had their first sustained possession they were down a goal. Bryan Namoff's cross from the right flank was headed away but directly to Clyde Simms just outside the penalty area. Simms pushed the ball back into the box toward Emilio, who fought off TFC defender Marco Velez then calmly slid the ball through the legs of Sutton to make the score 1-0.
United followed that up three minutes later on a goal by Santino Quaranta. Emilio's initial shot from 19 yards hit the crossbar over an extended Sutton after he slipped into open space on the left side of the attack. Sutton recovered quickly to beautifully knock away the rebound off the head of Devon McTavish but the ball bounced directly to an equally unmarked Quaranta who slotted inside the near post.
A minute earlier and perhaps a precursor of things to come, Danny Dichio received a yellow card for a hard and late foul along the sidelines against Gonzalo Martinez. Dichio also returned to the first team after sitting out most of last weekend's Columbus match.
Toronto's best chance of the first half came in the 15th minute when Carl Robinson's cross from the right flank found Jeff Cunningham alone in the penalty area but his header from eight yards out went directly to a perfectly positioned Wells.
The game turned ugly in the 22nd minute when Harmse's reckless two-footed tackle on Gonzalo Peralta earned him an instant red card from referee Mark Geiger.
Toronto did respond favorably after the ejection after Robert's free kick found Tyrone Marshall on the right touchline, whose chip skimmed off the top of the bar and out of the reach of the trailing Edu.
Another brilliant save by Sutton on a point blank header by Emilio kept United from extending the lead in the 28th minute. Fred's perfectly placed cross from the left touchline found Emilio between two defenders but his driven header was flicked over the bar by the left hand of the diving Sutton.
Peralta received a yellow card of his own tactically taking down Dichio just outside the penalty area in the 33rd minute. Robert's bending left-footed free kick hit the wall and caromed away to the right flank.
Toronto did corral the ball again however, with Maurice Edu sending a ball back into the penalty area that was deflected up but not away by United's defense. Jeff Cunningham collected the bouncing ball but his spinning shot from seven yards out bounced of the chest of Wells and subsequently cleared by United.
Sutton continued to do his part to keep Toronto in the game, diving hard to his left to snare a Marcelo Gallardo free kick out of the air from 28 yards out in the 40th minute.
Just seconds before halftime, Emilio streaked in with Velez at his heels but his underwhelming chip was batted away cleanly by Sutton, who came out nicely to cut the angle. After the ball was safely away, Velez turned his frustration toward the assistant referee appealing for offside.
Sutton continued his stellar play five minutes into the second stanza with a strong two-handed diving save on a shot by McTavish from inside the penalty area.
But two minutes later, he was helpless to stop Gallardo's first goal with United to make the score 3-0. After a quick switch of play from United to the right flank, McTavish pushed the ball back to Quaranta, who found Gallardo alone on the back side, who easily slid the ball into the open net.
Laurent almost broke the shutout in the 62nd minute but his low, left-footed shot from 15 yards out was handled by Wells diving to his right.
Jaime Moreno, also seeing his first action of the year, capped United's scoring in the 78th slipping the ball passed a beleaguered Sutton to the far post. Moreno literally took the ball off the foot of teammate Franco Niell's foot inside the penalty area and his slow left-footed shot trickled just inside the right post
Toronto finally found its way onto the scoreboard in the 88th minute. Jim Brennan floated in a cross from the left corner and Edu rose to loop a header over Wells and inside the left post, his first goal of the year coming just a few miles from where he played his collegiate soccer at the University of Maryland.
Chris Snear is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
New signing Laurent Robert and the return of Greg Sutton were not enough for Toronto F.C. as they fell 4-1 to D.C. United in Washington. Early goals from Luciano Emilio and Santino Quaranta left Toronto in an uphill battle for the rest of the match. The hill only became bigger in the 22nd minute when Kevin Harmse put in a hard challenge on Gonzalo Peralta and was subsequently sent off. 

Marcelo Gallardo then made it 3-0 for the home side in the 52nd minute. Quaranta crossed the ball and Gallardo was wide open to smash the ball into an open net. Jaime Moreno capped off the scoring for D.C. in the 78th before Edu opened Toronto's MLS account with his first goal of the season. 

The loss leaves Toronto at 0-2-0 on the season, while DC pick up their first win after losing their opener. DC now travel to play Real Salt Lake, while Toronto will visit David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy.