When we were wrapping up our three game home stand against three Western Conference playoff teams, I couldn't help but think that D.C. United has had a pretty tough schedule so far this year.
As it turns out, they have.
By most accounts, United is somewhere near the middle of the pack in MLS so far this year. But they've played a whole lot of matches against teams that are generally considered better than them, and relatively few matches against teams considered worse than them. They've played almost every member of each of the top two tiers, but almost no one from the bottom two tiers.
Let's look at this even closer.
- United is the only team to have played the defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids twice.
- United is one of only two teams in the league who has not yet played either expansion team (besides Portland and Vancouver themselves). New York is the other.
- Seven of United's 10 matches have been against 2010 playoff teams.
- United has not yet played any of the four bottom teams in the Western Conference, or either of the two bottom teams in the Eastern Conference.
- FC Dallas has won four of its last five games. The team's only tie came at RFK Stadium.
This might not change much of how you feel about our success so far. We've definitely left some points on the table. But whenever you start to worry about D.C.'s place in the standings, just keep in mind that they've still got two games to play against Sporting Kansas City and the Vancouver Whitecaps.