D.C. United 2016 Preseason Minutes Tracker v3.0

Well, fam, we've made it. D.C. United's 2016 preseason is in the books, and real, meaningful, competitive soccer happens tomorrow night. So let's look back at the final version of our Preseason Minutes Tracker for the year.

Since last we spoke, D.C. United has played two games, both against MLS opponents, one with the starters playing most of the game and the other with the starters on the sidelines until the final 20 minutes. Which makes this final edition a bit less enlightening about some of the position battles as we might have liked.

So, what are we looking at?

• The 4411 looks like the system Ben Olsen will be running out to start the year, and barring a change, it looks like he'll use it even when on-loan attacker Luciano Acosta isn't available. Just look at the number of minutes in the CAM section of the chart versus the DM portion of the table.
• Staying in the center of the park, Nick DeLeon led the team in minutes at central midfield, showing just how seriously Ben Olsen takes the idea of moving the erstwhile wide man inside. (Just, probably not against Queretaro tomorrow.)
• If it wasn't clear before, it is now: Benny really does see rookie Julian Buescher as a #10 first and foremost. The German only made a couple appearances in Florida, but almost every minute of both of them was in attacking midfield.
• Olsen also seems to have realized that Collin Martin's best spot is between the lines in the attack. But that hasn't stopped the coach from trying Martin all over the midfield: Almost half his 200 minutes were on the outside or deeper the middle. My hunch is that Benny really does rate the Chevy Chase native and is looking for ways to use him.
• My hunch goes precisely the other way for Jared Jeffrey. He didn't seem to be dealing with any injury this winter, but he saw less than half the time of Collin Martin. Some of that may be down to Olsen opting not to use a lone holding midfielder, but the lack of minutes doesn't bode well for Jeffrey coming into his third full season in black-and-red.
• Congrats to Paul Clowes and Rob Vincent, who took advantage of their many preseason minutes to win contracts. Both could definitely see some time in the 18-man roster this year, though Clowes may be a candidate to go to the Richmond Kickers on loan. Vincent's 18 goals in USL last season tell me that he probably doesn't need the seasoning and may jump directly onto the bench for MLS games.
• Two other guys who got a lot of run: the previously discussed Collin Martin and his fellow homegrown Jalen Robinson. Something something play your kids.
• We'll finish things off in the back, where Kofi Opare will not be around to back up Bobby Boswell and Steve Birnbaum, leaving a spot on the bench. Markus Halsti and Jalen Robinson seem to be the obvious choices for that role, but Halsti is also a likely candidate to start in central midfield, despite playing with the second unit in the last preseason game.