D.C. United Faces Roster Questions For U.S. Open Cup Match
by Martin Shatzer on Apr 25, 2011 10:01 AM EDT
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DC United ’s quest to return to the main draw of the U.S. Open Cup continues tomorrow night at the Maryland SoccerPlex against the New England Revolution .
United has somewhat of an advantage heading into this match. They’ve had two extra days of rest coming off their 4-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls . The Revolution beat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 on Saturday night.
That might not be the only reason that D.C. has an advantage though. I took a look back at the lineup that the Revs used in the U.S. Open Cup last year, and it was far from impressive. It included names like Seth Sinovic and Nico Colaluca, both of whom are now out of the league. They gave up two goals to John Wolyniec and lost to the Red Bulls 3-0.
If New England fails to take the U.S. Open Cup play-in round seriously, United might be able to advance to face the Sporks fairly easily. Although this year’s New England team does appear much stronger, and has a deeper bench as well.
For United, I’d expect to heavy doses of the three double-B’s: Branko Boskovic , Blake Brettschneider , and Brandon Barklage . This is the time for them to shine and prove themselves worthy of additional minutes with the first team. With so much competition in United’s top 6 positions, there will be little drop off from the first team to the U.S. Open Cup team. Andy Najar and Santino Quaranta could start for most MLS teams, but they’re currently not starting for United. They probably will be tomorrow though.
But how seriously will United take this match? That question will be answered in the back. I’d expect to see Ethan White no matter what, but does Perry Kitchen get the start? Or will we see the return of Rodrigo Brasesco ? How about the goalkeeper?
Who would you like to see starting tomorrow night for United?
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DCU vs REV
Assuming a 4-3-1-2 formation
Hamid
Jakovic
Korb
White
Kitchen
Boskovic
McCarthy
Barklage
Quaranta
Davies
Pontius
Pontius has been hot on the field and on my FIFA11 MLS Cup tourney. I think that means something.
Open cup
As DCU has a homefield advantage in the Open Cup game (feel like I’ve typed that before) think we can tinker with players without getting burned. That being said, at this point I’m not confident enough in Brasesco to even want to see him in the Open Cup play in. I see him as having to work up from reserve level.Otherwise, nowhere else do I see a serious downgrade which is a good feeling to have. I’m a little amazed Fred has worked his way into the starting lineup, this is the type of game I’d typically want to see him in. I think Kitchen will play for form’s sake.
My Line-Up
Onstad
Brasesco-White-Kitchen-Woolard
Najar-Morsink-Boskovic-Quaranta
Brettschneider-Ngwenya
-I would like to see the White-Kitchen at center back just as an experiment. Two rookie center backs aren’t ideal, but Jakovic’s recent form has been up and down.
-Boskovic will probably come off at half-time so that he won’t be fatigued/injured for Saturday’s match at Houston
-If DCU loses, this may be Onstad’s last game. EVER.
Close...
I think we’ll see Barklage at RB, and I’m also really hoping Olsen gives Kitchen-White a try.
I like your midfield, but up top, I’ve got Wolff (or Pontius) instead of Ngwenya. I think BlakeBrett and Ngwenya play too similar styles to be very effective together.
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekend Writer for SBNation DC.
by Martin Shatzer on Apr 25, 2011 5:10 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Just changed my mind on one actually
Simms over Morsink. Clyde has shown before that he has the energy to play multiple games per week.
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekend Writer for SBNation DC.
by Martin Shatzer on Apr 26, 2011 11:16 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Onstad?
I thought Cronin was back in form? Though when Hamid went down at the start of the last game, Onstadt was the one warming up.
Cronin(if possible)
Barkledge-White-Kitchen-Woolard
Tino-Morsink-King-Najar
Bretschnieder-Nywenga
I’d also like to see a rookie pairing at centerback to really test Kitchen’s leadership but I can see the worry in asking Kitchen too much after giving up 4.
Also, what happened to that midfielder from the academy? I thought we should get a glimpse of him at some point.
Conor Shanosky?
If this was 2010, he probably could see the field, but our central midfield is way too crowded at the moment. Maybe by the end of the season he could start making the 18, but that would probably take some injuries ahead of him. He’s more of a long-term project, and I’m okay with that.
We’ll see him in reserve matches, but probably not in the real thing.
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekend Writer for SBNation DC.
by Martin Shatzer on Apr 25, 2011 5:15 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Shanosky
Seemed to have big feet when I saw him in the reserve match. Was much more impressed by the mini-Dax from the academy. Forgot his name but he had some skills.
Collin Martin?
I believe he and most of the other big-time academy players were in the group that went to Amsterdam for the AEGON tournament.
It’s a shame we can’t field them in USOC play. Most of TFC’s current homegrown players had appeared for the senior team in Canadian Championship play.
Writer - Black and Red United
by ChestRockwell on Apr 26, 2011 6:14 AM EDT up reply actions
mystery player...
He was red headed, creative and short… somebody said he’d won a national high school award.
On another topic, will the game be broadcast on the internet tonight?
I think they're trying to up attendance at these games
There were tweets along those lines a couple of weeks ago, basically saying that attendance → money → more funds for webcasts, etc.
On the other hand, the Beltway/270 traffic are a huge deterrent. I am a little surprised we haven’t heard anything about a repeat of last year’s game at George Mason, or at some other inside-the-Beltway college (MD, American, Georgetown, etc). There are probably reasons for that that fans will never hear about, but still.
Writer - Black and Red United
by ChestRockwell on Apr 26, 2011 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Cody Albrecht = mini Dax
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekend Writer for SBNation DC.
by Martin Shatzer on Apr 26, 2011 11:21 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
That's it!
I was impressed by what I saw our of him. Competition for Dax for the future. Or we could have a ginger ninja midfield.
Intriguing issues ahead of Friday's game in Houston
This is a very odd sequence of games (Thursday-Tuesday-Friday). The short gap between our visit to Houston will probably be the #1 concern for Olsen as he picks the team for tonight’s game. My guesses:
GK: Pat Onstad – Cronin is training, but he has all of 45 minutes of reserve play under his belt. Throwing him in now is too risky. Not only do you gamble with this game, but Cronin’s long-term confidence would potentially be damaged with a bad display.
RB: Brandon Barklage – With McTavish out, Zayner only just returning to training according to Goff, and Korb impressing in league play, this one’s a no-brainer.
CB: Perry Kitchen – I’m going with a hunch here: I think Olsen will have been impressed by Ethan White thus far, and Houston’s attack calls for White’s strength in the air. My guess (hope?) is that White will get the call against the Dynamo, which would mean Kitchen starts against the Revs tonight.
CB: Rodrigo Brasesco – This is a good chance for Brasesco to prove he’s more like the guy we saw against Columbus, and less like the guy we’ve seen since.
LB: Daniel Woolard – Another no-brainer here. I hope he can continue his goalscoring streak at the Soccerplex.
RM: Andy Najar – Najar looked really up for the game against Philly, and with Fred taking a step back against NY, this is Najar’s chance to push his way back into the starting lineup.
DM: Kurt Morsink – I thought King looked better in this role during the Philly game than Morsink usually does, but I think both will start this game.
CM: Stephen King – One of our least-used players this season. If we were playing Houston on Sunday, I’d expect McCarty to start, but that’s not the case.
LM: Santino Quaranta – Recognize this midfield? It’s 2010, back from the grave! Seriously though, I think Boskovic earned himself a start in MLS play with his outstanding 2nd half against NY, so he’ll have to be held in reserve tonight.
ST: Joseph Ngwenya – If Ngwenya wants to keep seeing time as a sub, he needs to score goals in this kind of game. Big night for him.
ST: Blake Brettschneider – See above, though since he’s younger, there will be more patience with him. BB is playing for time this season, whereas Ngwenya is trying to make sure he’s not the person we look to cut when the summer window comes around.
Writer - Black and Red United
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