DC United suffered its first back-to-back shutouts since *gasp* the 2005 Eastern Conference semi-finals. Talk about bad memories. Let's get this over with.


No one really stood out to me actually. Even the beautifully consistent Bryan Namoff seemed pretty pedestrian.


1. Jaime Moreno was one of the only players on the team who showed a noticeable bit of passion. Not that his service was any better, but I liked the leadership to call Burch off on a couple corner kicks late in the match to do it himself.

2. I thought Gonzalo Peralta did a good job of frustrating Blanco and the Chicago attack for most of the match. But I'd also like to take this opportunity to coin the term "Gonzoball." It's when a center back aimlessly boots the ball down the field, rather than work the ball up through short solid passes or utilize room on the flanks.


1. I just don't understand how Rod Dyachenko can look like an all-star in Reserve matches, and look like nothing more than a scrub with the first team. Again though, he was the only player who was successful at drawing fouls near the opponent's box. But Roddy Dice is a red card waiting to happen.

2. When Franco Niell first came to DC, I figured he would be about the same as Guy Kpene. Likeable, but can't score worth a damn. Kpene was polarizing - you either loved him or hated him. But I was wrong about Niell. And not just because he scored a goal against Pachuca. But because no one really seems to like him, or have any confidence in him.

3. Again, it's hard not to question the formation. Against the best offensive team we've faced yet this year, Tom Soehn doesn't roll out the 4-4-2, or even the 3-5-2. From what I could tell, he rolled out what I could only call a 3-4-3. I don't think either goal can really be faulted to one player in particular. Both were due to Fire players not being marked tight enough. Or maybe just finding those huge open spaces behind the midfield.

Now I don't think I'll go quite so far as to be the first United blogger that I know of to officially rev the engine on the Fire Soehn Express. But I do think I'll hop in the shotgun chair and buckle my seatbelt, because I can see D reaching the keys towards the ignition as we speak, and I'm going along for the ride. It might be too long to wait though to make that call after the Chivas match as he's suggesting, because remember that we've only got a real short week of practice after that before the road leg of the Toronto miniseries.

By the way, was I the only one who felt like John Harkes sounded like he was auditioning for the job through his commentary tonight? By all means Kevin, give him a call!