Time for some clean up. Here's our player ratings and corresponding quotes from D.C. United's 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers at RFK Stadium on Wednesday - the exciting match that ended the team's season.

From essentially the opening whistle, Dwayne De Rosario looked hurt. He was limping all over the field. But on this night, I feel like DeRo could have had both his legs removed before the match and still would have scored. We spoke to him after the match (while he stood in a bath tub) and he certainly wasn't making any excuses. "At halftime I didn't think I was gonna be able to make it. But sometimes you gotta step it up for your team. And that's what I tried to do, and help my team get in a good position to hopefully win the game ... Even when you're tired, you gotta still dig down deep and figure out a way to get that out of you. To get behind the ball and make that final pass or finish your chance." De Rosario showed displayed the leadership qualities that this team desperately needs.

When addressing the media in the post-game press conference, Ben Olsen raved about Perry Kitchen, saying "It's exciting to have him in this organization. He's a big-time player and he's got a huge heart." Kitchen described his role as being "put in there to try to keep the game connected ... and communicate to the guys to make sure our shape was good." Kitchen's talking points were the same as they've been in previous matches, but when asked if he felt comfortable in D-Mid role, Kitchen smirked. "Uh, yeah its definitely a good fit for me I think. But just like I've said all year, wherever they need me is where I'm gonna play. I've played in a bunch of different spots so I'm always gonna go out there and try my best." But his body language was different this time. It was different from when he was asked the same question about playing right back. The change in Kitchen's demeanor was noticeable enough to conclude that defensive midfielder is his preferred position, and it's probably where he'll spend plenty of his time for this club in the future.

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I'm gonna be honest with you guys. I only watched the last 10 minutes of the game.

You see, my brother-in-law just got back from his training for the Air Force. Dude's been in Texas since January, so his return to Maryland required a few beers to be shared, and a few stories to be told.

So that's why I only watched the last 10 minutes of the game on Saturday night. And I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch the full replay on MDL (although I have seen the highlights). There's just no reason to get emotionally invested in a game that I already know the ending to.

Of course by that logic, I wouldn't be attending the final two matches either since Chest and I have already figured out exactly how they are going to end too.

With that said though, I'm totally open to revising the player ratings based on the feedback from those of you who did actually suffer through the entire match.

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If for no other reason, I'm looking forward to the end of the season so I don't have to keep starting these player rating stories with the number Three.

The insertion of Santino Quaranta into the lineup made an immediate positive impact on the game. I thought he should have started, but then we lose the ability to have an impactful supersub off the bench, so I guess I'll side with Ben Olsen on this one (and most ones). Quaranta's free kick assist was very pretty, but it was just about his only significant contribution. Wasted passes told the story the rest of the way for Quaranta.

The midfielder's free kick was put away by the guy who I would also deem DC United's best defender on the night - Brandon McDonald. His well-placed header started the comeback attempt for D.C., and he was the only defender who I don't think you can legitimately blame for either Vancouver Whitecaps goal.

In his first professional start in a midfield position, Perry Kitchen didn't leave quite the impression that we'd hoped. He was fine. He was probably hampered by an early yellow card, which limited his ability to play too physically in his central defensive midfield role, but I really didn't notice any letdown from Simms. I've got to suspect though that Kitchen will be headed back to his normal right back position for the upcoming games to help shore up the defense.

The broadcast team was giving Andy Najar more criticism than he likely deserved on both Whitecaps goals. Its true that he didn't close down Jordan Harvey quite as expeditiously as he could have, but I place far more blame on the defenders. We'll get to them. Najar added a good attacking element for United, but the team needed to find more ways to get him more involved. United finished with one shot on goal (I miss you so much CP13).

In such a big game, it was really disappointing to see our defense come up so short. Marc Burch was caught out of position by Camilo Sanvezzo for the first goal, and Daniel Woolard was beaten handily by Long Tan in the air for the second. And the crosses came from Chris Korb's side of the field both times, so we'll lump him in with the others. They really dyachenked this one.

I've given him a pass in most of our losses lately, but not so fast this time Bill Hamid. His defenders may have hung him out to dry, but Hamid didn't put up a fight on either goal. Let's get that GAA back down a bit, bro.

Do you guys remember this story? The one about how D.C. United has two defenders in Perry Kitchen and Ethan White who could be future members of the U.S. National Team? A number that is now three with the leadership of Brandon McDonald. Four if you add in Dejan Jakovic and his own respective country. Five if you want to throw a goalkeeper in there too with Bill Hamid.

Yeah, they're not quite there yet.

That's become evident this week. And when you consider that three of these young potential stars were out injured or suspended for today's loss to the Columbus Crew, you realize that the result should not have been surprising. But you should also realize that our defense's best days are still ahead of it.

There were always going to be letdowns along the way for this young team. Those are just amplified now towards the end of the season. And the season isn't over yet, by the way, no matter how bad this week feels. United still has an outside chance of making the playoffs. Even though the number of points they'll need to earn in their last four games isn't much short of 12 at this point. They could still make it. But if they don't, we still have a lot to look forward to.

Full recap here. Player ratings below.

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The two goalscorers for D.C. United each deserve credit for keeping us alive. For this team to stay hot enough down the stretch to sneak into the playoffs, these two players will need to continue to be at their collective best. Dwayne De Rosario's goal was most impressive because United had just targeted him on a corner kick attempt just seconds before that was whistled dead. So the Philadelphia Union defenders knew exactly where Da Luz wanted to go with the ball, and they still couldn't stop DeRo. His header was spot on.

Meanwhile, the run from Andy Najar was certainly highlight reel worthy, but more for Najar's fitness, the power in the final shot, and the lack of Union defending than anything else. It wasn't in itself an unbelievable play. What was unbelievable to me was that no one stepped up at any point to challenge Andy until the ball was already in the back of the net. Not even Zac MacMath.

That was quite a well-taken corner kick from Austin Da Luz to serve up De Rosario with the opportunity to remain the Golden Boot leader. We needed more from the right wing position during the run of play though. Da Luz seems quite a distance behind Najar in his defensive responsibilities. And I really miss CP13.

Were the goals his fault? No. Did he make some other tough saves? Yes. Was his distribution improved, including even earning an assist on Najar's goal? Why yes. But Bill Hamid allowed three goals. Do better.

Its April 1 2007, and the phone rings. "Hello. Tommy? Its Piotr. Congrats on the great beginning to your season. You guys are well on your way to winning another Supporters' Shield. Unfortunately you'll never escape my shadow, but it will be a great start! Okay listen. There's this forward, local kid, Maryland alum. Marc Burch. You should totally trade for him and make him a left back! Yeah. Haha! A forward as a left back. What? Nah. There's no way I'll be coaching a different MLS team four years from now and totally expose Burch's deficiencies as a left back. You're getting way ahead of yourself Tommy. I doubt you'll be coaching in D.C. by then anymore anyway. Glad you agree. Thanks, bye."

This game was lost by United in central defense. That is readily clear. Ethan White seemed to have forgotten his head on this trip up I-95. Oh no wait, there's his head, its facing the wrong way and getting hit by a ball to give Sebastien Le Toux a free shot on goal because Brandon McDonald couldn't keep up with him. They were both awful last night. With more focused defending, United escapes with at least a point. And maybe more importantly, we keep Philadelphia from earning three.

The following is a comprehensive list of the only things that would have made last night's victory for D.C. United over Real Salt Lake better:

• If Andy Najar also scored a hat trick
• If we kept the clean sheet
• If the match was played in United's brand new soccer specific stadium on the southeast D.C. waterfront
  
• If Branko Boskovic returned to action
• If Jason Kreis formally announced that he has officially handed the title of Hott Young Coach off to Ben Olsen
• If Dwayne De Rosario celebrated one of his three goals by diving

That was the most fun a United game has been in years. But it wasn't MLS Cup. It was just another regular season game, and no matter how truly United dominated, those three points were no more valuable than any other points.

We're not done. The celebration ends tonight. The work starts again tomorrow.

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The good news from this 2-2 draw between DC United and Chivas USA is that United's attack remains a force to be reckoned with. Five goals in two matches against the above average defense of Chivas USA is a pretty solid tally.

The problem is that we needed six.

United's attack isn't what we should be worried about. The boys can finish. That feels good to say after what we saw from United in 2010, and what we saw from Joseph Ngwenya in Seattle.

What we suddenly need to be worried about is the other side of the ball. The defense gave up five goals this week, and was bailed out by their goalkeeper to prevent a few more.

We never thought "heart" would be a problem with a team coached by Ben Olsen, but it was tonight.

There were other signs of danger in this match though that didn't exist in the first matchup between these two teams. For a 5-10 minute period prior to the second Chivas goal, United could not string together more than two touches at a time. That's why no one in RFK Stadium was surprised to see the visitors tie the game. Win the ball, clear it. Win the ball, clear it. That's not a strategy for victory when you're up by only one goal with 20+ minutes remaining.

Four points from two home games was our intention going into this week. Earning only one tonight while utilizing our best healthy lineup means United will have to work even harder to get the full points on Saturday against a Real Salt Lake team that just dominated the New York Red Bulls at RBA.

Full recap here. Player ratings below.

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There was only one player wearing a DC United jersey who looked dangerous, and he was wearing No. 14. Andy Najar attacked with flare and made lots of strong runs to challenge the Seattle Sounders defense.

Before the match, I thought our chances to win were ruined by Ben Olsen's decision to start a healthy Joe Willis ahead of a still-recovering Bill Hamid. And while Willis wasn't necessarily at fault on any of the three goals, so the loss certainly can't be blamed on him, it wasn't a very impressive performance from the rookie goalkeeper either. Willis made all of the saves that were expected of him, but none of the saves that weren't. All this leads us towards the conclusion that Willis is a solid MLS backup, but not yet ready to be an everyday starter.

This was a disappointing match from Dwayne De Rosario, who failed to control the tempo of the game in our favor. This match needed a strong showing from DeRo for United to come out on top, and it didn't happen.

I have a prediction. I predict that yesterday's match will be the last start that Joseph Ngwenya ever makes in MLS. He offered nothing of quality. His one breakaway run resulted in a weak shot in the absolute easiest location for Kasey Keller to make a save - chest height, one step to the left. The fact that Ngwenya has been productive in 2011 in offseason training matches and reserve games just indicates to me that he'd be a solid USL-Pro player. That's the level he should be playing at next year.

All five of United's defensive players made errors that contributed to Sounders goals. Should I name them each individually? Okay! Well on the first goal, United players were on the wrong side of three 50-50 balls, and in the end Brandon McDonald chose the wrong angle in his pursuit of Michael Fucito. A failed clearance from Ethan White was the main culprit on the second goal, but Clyde Simms and Daniel Woolard were both out of position to cover Alvaro Fernandez. Then on the third goal, Perry Kitchen lost track of Fredy Montero, giving the forward a free header while no one picked up Fernandez on the rebound. It was the worst defensive effort we've seen from D.C. in months.

Hopefully this defensive futility in this game was just an aberration. United will have to solve its problems quickly. Fortunately, our good old pals from Chivas USA are visiting on Wednesday night. Three points should be there for the taking. So let's take it.