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D.C. United Lose To Columbus Crew, Lose All Hope For Redemption
by Martin Shatzer on Sep 1, 2010 11:19 PM EDT
in Match Reviews
9 comments
Obviously D.C. United doesn't know how to play with a lead.
After an even and unattractive first half that had United fortunate to be up a goal thanks to the second of two Andy Gruenebaum mistakes, the team fell apart in the second half and overtime. They could not hold possession. They could not complete any passes. They could not fabricate any opportunities.
They could not keep the Columbus Crew out of their half, and then ultimately they could not keep the Columbus Crew out of their net.
What D.C. United has going for it though are two things. Fans that will be eternally loyal (at least as long as the team remains in or around D.C.). And players who don't quit fighting. Some players fight by working hard from the opening whistle until the final whistle, by playing with an unfaltering aggression, by challenging every pass. And some players fight by sticking out a leg to trip an opponent after falling to the ground.
Open Cup GameThread: Columbus Crew At D.C. United
by Martin Shatzer on Sep 1, 2010 5:00 PM EDT
31 comments
The Columbus Crew's goal for the season is to be the first team ever to win three straight Supporters' Shields. D.C. United has the goal of reclaiming the U.S. Open Cup. The two teams face each other twice this week. Can't we just work something out...?
Game Time: 7:30 pm
Television: The match will be streamed live on dcunited.com
Projected Starting Lineup: United rested many of their starters against Chivas USA in preparation for this match. The fans know that this is the most important match in the season to date, and the team seems to agree. So we will see Bill Hamid return to the net, and a backline consisting of the resurgent Marc Burch, Dejan Jakovic, Julius James, and Devon McTavish. Two players who didn't play on Sunday will line up at the top of the formation: the suddenly hot Danny Allsopp and Pablo Hernandez. Clyde Simms will look to wreak havoc in the midfield, and he may be joined by all three of United's talented wingers Andy Najar, Chris Pontius, and Santino Quaranta, although the coaching staff may give Stephen King another trot. Najar made a huge impact on the pace of the game in his short time on the field Sunday night - look for him to do it over 90 minutes tonight.
If you're going to the game, sing loud and help the team deliver us another Final appearance. This is your place for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion.
SBNhanced MLS Award Tracking: September 2010
by Martin Shatzer on Sep 1, 2010 10:00 AM EDT
6 comments
The MLS season is more than two-thirds complete. The Power Rankings have been fairly stable for weeks. So it's time to mix things up here.
The SB Nation soccer writers gathered together this week in a most virtual manner to go beyond just the teams, and to dive deeper into the MLS statistics. We discussed the upcoming MLS Player Awards. Yeah, we went there!
Each of the seven participating writers submitted three votes in all of the MLS Award categories. A first place vote counted for three points, second place two, and third place one. The results, with requisite commentary, are below. (Note - every player with at least two points is included. Players with only one point just don't belong.)
Most Valuable Player:
1. Fredy Montero, 14
2. David Ferreira, 12
T3. Dwayne De Rosario and Edson Buddle, 5
5. Javier Morales, 3
6. Landon Donovan, 2
Looking at this list just makes me wish that we had voted for these awards earlier. The July voting surely would have seen Donovan and Buddle each in the top three, probably with a couple other Los Angeles Galaxy players mixed in for good measure. But with the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas each boasting long undefeated streaks, it's no surprise to see their attacking leaders at the top.
Read on for more awards.
Week 22 SBNhanced MLS Power Rankings
by Martin Shatzer on Aug 31, 2010 11:10 PM EDT
in SBNhanced MLS Power Rankings
2 comments
| Team | Total vote count | First Tier votes | Last week's Tier |
| Tier 1 - Teams Contending For Cups | |||
| Real Salt Lake | 24 | 8 | 1 |
| Columbus Crew | 24 | 8 | 1 |
| FC Dallas | 22 | 6 | 1 |
| Tier 2 - Teams Likely in the Playoffs | |||
| LA Galaxy | 18 | 2 | 1 |
| NY Red Bulls | 18 | 2 | 2 |
| Seattle Sounders | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| Tier 3 - Teams On the Outside Looking In | |||
| Colorado Rapids | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| SJ Earthquakes | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| Chicago Fire | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| KC Wizards | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Toronto FC | 8 | 0 | 3 |
| Tier 4 - Teams Competing for #3 Draft Pick | |||
| Chivas USA | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| NE Revolution | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Houston Dynamo | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Philadelphia Union | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| DC United | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Could it be? The mighty sure have fallen. It took 22 weeks, but for the first time all season the Los Angeles Galaxy are no longer in the top tier.
Does this even make sense though? They're still the MLS point leaders. Are we seriously to believe that the team with the best record in the league is not going to be a championship contender?
This just goes to show that the SBNhanced Power Rankings don't necessarily coincide very much with the MLS Standings. Their purpose is to track how a team is performing, and project out through the remainder of the season and predict where each team will wind up.
The rest of the rankings continue to be fairly flat. The San Jose Earthquakes dropped down a level after their loss to the New York. But other than that, we're expecting the rankings to remain fairly constant for the rest of the season. But we also expected L.A. to remain at the top, so what do we know?
D.C. United Loses To Chivas USA, While All Eyes Look Towards Wednesday
by Martin Shatzer on Aug 30, 2010 12:46 AM EDT
22 comments
Last week against the Philadelphia Union, you wouldn't have guessed that it was a match between the two worst teams in the league. D.C. United didn't exactly look like the champions of years past, but they looked indiscriminately better.
None of that was true tonight though. The last place team in the East was taking on the last place team in the West, and they both looked like exactly. You've got to think that ESPN must be kicking themselves for picking this one to be their "Game of the Week" rather than potential championship matchup of the Columbus Crew against FC Dallas that took place on Saturday.
Neither team really played well. United surely looked like the better side in the second half, but the difference was (as it often is) that Chivas USA finished off one of their few opportunities, and United failed to finish off any of their many.
GameThread: D.C. United At Chivas USA
by Martin Shatzer on Aug 29, 2010 7:22 PM EDT
3 comments
The last place team in the East takes on the last place team in the West tonight in L.A. D.C. United is coming off a dominating 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union, but their multi-goal scorer from that game and scoring leader Danny Allsopp stayed home in D.C. due to illness.
Another reason to watch: Chivas USA is planning a tribute to United legend Jaime Moreno tonight. Pretty cool.
Game time: 10:00 pm Eastern
Television: ESPN2
Projected Starting Lineup: We told you yesterday about United's travel roster. Ben Olsen and his staff will have some tough decisions to make tonight since the teams most important game of the season to date is coming up this Wednesday evening. Allsopp, Pablo Hernandez, and Marc Burch stayed home for that very reason - to prepare for the Open Cup semifinal against the Columbus Crew. So expect to see a mixed bag of starters and reserves tonight as Olsen manages minutes and prioritizes the Cup. He'll probably elect to go with the more experienced Troy Perkins in net, and give some time to Carey Talley and Kurt Morsink while resting some of our better defensive starters.
Enjoy the festivities. This is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game conversations.
United traveling with just 18 players
Taking a look at this piece on how Allsopp, Hernandez, and Burch were left home to rest, and then glancing at our previous injury status, it's fairly easy to list exactly who traveled. Ben Olsen will pick a starting lineup from the following 18 players:
GK: Hamid, Perkins
DF: Zayner, Jakovic, James, Graye, McTavish, Rice, Talley
MF: Najar, Simms, Boskovic, Quaranta, Pontius, King, Morsink
FW: Moreno, Cristman
U.S. Open Cup Final Locations Revealed
by Martin Shatzer on Aug 26, 2010 8:45 PM EDT
4 comments
The U.S. Soccer Federation announced the potential sites for the Open Cup Final today. And it's exactly what we expected.
From D.C. United's press release:
Should United defeat Columbus in the first semifinal, the Black-and-Red would either host Chivas USA at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at RFK Stadium, or travel to Qwest Field to face Seattle Sounders FC on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 11 p.m. ET. The final will be televised live by Fox Soccer Channel.
This is something I predicted over two months ago. The Seattle Sounders realized they messed up last year. They put together a shoddy bid presentation for the Final in 2009, forcing USSF to rightfully award the Cup Final to D.C. They weren't going to let that happen again, and unsurprisingly outbid the competition this year.
But I'm okay with that. Remember - D.C. United is undefeated all-time at Qwest Field. They're 1-0-1 in Seattle against the Sounders, and even beat Real Madrid at Qwest in 2006. On the other hand, the Sounders are 3-0-0 at RFK Stadium.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've still got a match to win on Wednesday against the Columbus Crew. And we learned today that the team will have to do it without Branko Boskovic, who has been called in to play with his native Montenegro in Euro 2012 qualifying next week. He'll be flying out directly after our match Saturday night against Chivas USA, further complicating Ben Olsen's lineup decisions for the next three matches.
Do we stick with the diamond 4-4-2 and move Santino Quaranta, Chris Pontius, or Andy Najar into the middle? Or go back to the flatter 4-4-2 with Stephen King joining Clyde Simms in central midfield?
One thing United does have in their favor though is that both the Sounders and Crew have pretty packed schedules already. They're in the middle of the CONCACAF Champions' League group stage.
Here's what jumps out at me though: If the Final is at Qwest, it will be on a Tuesday. What, are the Sounders afraid of our Wednesday record?
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