The Union clawed back for a 2-2 draw in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon and remain the only unbeaten team in Major League Soccer with 3 wins and 4 draws. Kai Wagner scored the equalizer off a late volley with his weak foot:

Great goal, but Atlanta fans cried about it. Wah wah!

Why? Because upon replay it looks like Nate Harriel’s foot was maybe one one-millionth of a centimeter over the line, which would constitute a foul throw. The Atlanta radio play-by-play guy tweeted five times about it, starting with this:

It’s close, but it’s not egregious, so it’s not a big deal. The rules state that any part of that left foot has to be touching the line, and the heel might be in COMPLIANCE. If it’s not, it’s over the line by a hair.

What’s worth whining about is that the Atlanta player made one of the worst headed clearances you will ever see, steering the ball backwards and toward the 18 for a full volley from an unmarked player. He couldn’t have put it in a worse spot. Same thing on the first Union goal, when a bad back pass went directly to a Union player:

So that’s two Union goals in which the other team gave the ball to them. Just put the ball right in their path. That’s something to complain about, instead of getting out Microsoft Paint and drawing lines to determine whether or not Nate Harriel’s foot was maybe one bazillionth of a millimeter off the line.

(As a quick aside, it looks like Harriel was initially credited with an assist for that, but it doesn’t show up in his game log or seasonal stats on the MLS site, only in the match feed. If there’s any question, the answer should be no, because he throws the ball to the near post and a horrendous defensive header goes to a teammate. That would be like giving Travis Sanheim an assist for dumping the puck ahead into the Devils’ zone, John Marino totally misplays it off his foot, and then Travis Konecny is wide open in front of the net.)