D.C. United Goat of the Month for May 2013

Last month was frustrating, so we took a bit of a cop out in selecting our Goat of the Month. I nominated, and as a community we selected "Every single attacker on the team, jointly and severally" as our scapegoat. It was an obvious choice, really - as bad as some of the defense's performances were and even as frustration with the coaching and technical staff grew, it was the offense that drew most of our ire. "The more things change," right? The offense is still sucking hose water, but now the defense has decided to match the depths of the attack's incompetence.

Here are this month's nominees:

Dwayne De Rosario - He's the captain and the linchpin of the attack. His ball control, vision, soccer IQ and finishing comprise the essence around which the team and Ben Olsen's system is built. And he just hasn't been up to the task this year. He says he wants the ball played to his feet, but he's been too easily pushed off the ball in midfield. When he's had chances, he's blazed them over the bar or hit the woodwork or found the only defender standing on the goal line. One goal isn't enough from DeRo.

Every Single Defender, Jointly and Severally - Yeah, it's a cop out, just like last month. But the defense (specifically, the field players in defense) needs desperately to be represented here, and I couldn't pick just one. Brandon McDonald and Dejan Jakovic have regressed from a lock-down pairing at the end of last season to a sieve this year. Daniel Woolard was never a speed demon, but since his return from last year's head injury, he's lost his ability to make up for that with good positioning and sheer will. Chris Korb has been absent on critical plays on both ends of the field. James Riley has scored as many goals for opponents as any United player has scored for us this year. Ethan White's only real crime is that he's associated with this mess, but he gets tossed in, too.

Bill Hamid - You can chalk it up to Dan Kennedy-style shell shock if you want, but our homegrown keeper hasn't been up to snuff in recent weeks. He's not making the mind-bending, howdhedothat saves he was early in the year, but he's not making some of the more routine ones, either. He's a young keeper, and errors will be made, but when you allow as many goals as D.C. have this month, the goalkeeper's name is going to show up somewhere on this list.

Ben Olsen - The only name to be singly listed in each of the three Goat of the Month polls we've had this year. He hasn't won one of them so far, but maybe May is the month. More often than not, the team hasn't looked ready to go at the opening whistle, and while there has been some slight improvement on the field - his players are missing chances now, rather than failing entirely to create them in the first place - the fact remains that United have earned one point in the last two calendar months, and at some point, it's got to come back to the man in charge. Olsen would tell you the same thing - hell, based on some of his postgame comments this month, he might even vote for himself in this poll if given the option.

Now it's your turn. Vote in our poll and use the comments to tell us who you voted for.