Debriefing for Match 14.07: F.C. Dallas

D.C. United 2 : 1 F.C. Dallas

Six Word Novel Recap

Ponce de Leon should check Bolivia.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Dallas Morning News, Frank Servalli: "Despite being outshot, outmuscled and outplayed, FC Dallas somehow managed to escape the first half Saturday night against D.C. United with a 1-0 lead.Rather than take advantage, FCD (1-5-1) coughed up the lead in the first minute of the second half and allowed another goal 10 minutes later and fell, 2-1, at RFK Stadium."
The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "[Moreno's] goals 10 minutes apart and all-around brilliance helped United (3-1-3) overcome a halftime deficit and validate a mostly dominant performance by the home club in front of 14,225 spectators. "
The Washington Times, Patrick Stevens: "It was Moreno's first multigoal game since April 26, 2008, against Real Salt Lake, and came on a night he was honored for becoming the first player in MLS history with 100 goals and 100 assists."
DCist, Aaron Morrissey: "Moreno was far from the team's only contributor on the evening. Add Milos Kocik to the long list of rookies who have played a vital part in the opening salvo to D.C. United's 2009 season. The 23-year-old Serbian-born keeper -- who recorded 29 shutouts in his last two seasons at Loyola (MD), and had an undefeated record in 2008 -- made several key efforts in the last fifteen minutes to preserve the victory, his second over Dallas in two weeks."
Washington Examiner, Craig Stouffer: "Moreno... put in a vintage performance even before he settled Bryan Namoff’s long ball at the top of the box, beating Dallas goalkeeper Ray Burse with a left-footed shot to tie the score, 1-1, in the 56th minute. Ten minutes later Christian Gómez, who came on as a substitute immediately after D.C.’s first goal, put Moreno through once more. This time MLS’ all-time leading scorer executed a deft chip over the onrushing Burse for the game-winner and his 124th career goal."
UnitedMania, Chris Webb: "United continued to pour on the pressure and almost scored the go-ahead goal in the 60th minute. Luciano Emilio was sent through all alone on Burse. The Brazilian pushed the ball to the right of Burse in an attempt to round the keeper but his touch was too strong. Emilio got to the ball before it rolled over the endline and managed to get a good shot at goal but it too was blocked off the goal line.
MLSNet, Charles Boehm: "United's 2009 squad seems to grow in confidence and fluidity with every passing week and against Dallas the Black-and-Red controlled play from the opening whistle, carving out one scoring opportunity after another and eventually directing 11 shots on goal."
DCSportsBox, Abram Fox: "D.C. tried to get out to a quick start, attacking Dallas relentlessly in the first half. They notched 4 shots in the first 10 minutes of play, but connected on none. The trend continued for much of the half, with the ball remaining on Dallas’ side of the field much of the time. Despite the power of their attack, D.C. was unable to score on any of their 10 shots. In the 28th minute, a Dallas corner kick from Dave van den Bergh set up midfielder Andre Rocha to head the ball past D.C. keeper Milos Kocic, giving Dallas the 1-0 lead. They held the lead going into halftime."
MLSNet, Chris Snear: "'I'm not surprised; not surprised at all,' said McCarty about giving up the early second-half goals. 'It's pretty much the story of our season so far. I think we have gone into halftime tied or in the lead in most of our games and in the second half for whatever reason we come out flat. We don't bring the needed energy or desire to get the three points.'"
QuarterVolley, I-66: "I felt like I was watching blond #9 Jaime again..."
DCUMD, Shatz: "That wasn't quite as productive of a match as Chris Pontius is used to, but I just like the fact that we've got a guy who can fill in at central holding midfield when necessary, in addition to also playing on the wing, CAM, and withdrawn forward."
Fullback Files, Fullback: "Emilio, on the other hand, didn't exactly justify his DP dollars tonight. He had two golden opportunities, a one-on-one with Burse and a point-blank header. Neither of which were finished. And finishing is what we pay him the DP bucks for. Those are the goals we need to kill off games that the opposition has no right still being in as we come down the final stretch... The question becomes: if this is indeed the start of another frigid streak from Emilio, do we have the depth in attack this year to overcome it?"
3rd Degree, Jay Brownlee: "FC Dallas Head coach Schellas Hyndman would attempt to counter DC United’s 3-5-2 by playing David 'the Gnat' Ferreira deeper, effectively positioning Dallas into a 4-5-1, leaving Kenny Cooper alone up top. It didn’t work. Dallas was throttled in the midfield all match long as United kept possession and kept pouring on chances."
The FCD Blog, [FCD] Front Office: "[Hyndman] on goals coming early in the second half: 'I think the opposition is trying to play quicker balls through the center. They are trying to unbalance us with the diagonal balls. It doesn’t take a lot to figure out where are weaknesses are; I think right now we are not able to handle pressure real well.'"
BLCKDGRD, BDR: "Burch and Wallace are the side every team will attack until it's not the best option, every team will cross to the dot until United proves it can mark in the box, and good teams are going to score on United until the defense better communicates and coheres, but lordy, a 3-5-2 clicking on offense is a beautiful joy. Koton, Craycic, oy. I've read criticisms that United should have taken Stefan Frei instead of Rodney Wallace, and Wallace has so far justified his selection, but United has a keeper problem, yes?"

The Good

1. 9/99/123/124/100+/100: Use whatever numbers you want, we simply must begin the good with Jaime Moreno. I am glad so many people also noticed that Moreno was involved in this match from the whistle, and playing to his strength. A 3-5-2 is easily victimized if a team can't hold that pivot point in midfield, and Moreno was essential to that mission early. There would have been no talk about United's dominance in the first half if he didn't play that role.
2. 3: Any game where United's back line surrenders no goals in the run of play is a good one, and Burch, Jakovic, and Namoff played strong defense, complemented by some truly determined digging in by Ben Olsen (at one point winning a ball flat on his stomach) and Clyde Simms, who had a technically strong match. Namoff's assist on the long ball to Moreno was a nice addition, but it should not detract from the team defense.
   
3. Soehn v. Hyndeman: Let's not gloss over this fact - Tom Soehn outcoached Schellas Hyndeman in this match, regardless of any personnel issues. Dallas was maligned for playing a 4-5-1, but rightfully so, as United pretty much all service out of midfield to Kenny Cooper. Further, it is a difficult thing to go to the halftime talk after dominating a half but finding yourself behind. You know the opposing coach should try and change things around, but what do you tell your players to change? Instead, Soehn kept his powder dry and his subsitutions and sideline tactics were well played. He bunkered properly and at the right time, he used Gomez effectively, and the flow of attack was dictated by events on the field and not theory.
   
4. Rodney Wallace vs. Dave van den Bergh: Again, I was impressed by Rodney Wallace's defense on the wing, and he was even better when the shift to the 4-5-1 United employed at the end of the match occurred. I almost don't quite worry as much about Terry Cooke. Almost. Wallace and Burch still are, as BDR notes, the weak flank for this team, but there are signs of improvement, no?
5. Resiliency: Commenter Jeremy in the first impressions: "When was the last time that you felt confident that United would come back from a deficit?" To be honest, I still don't. Really, I thought we would lose this match at 1-0, or give up another counter goal. I find my own lack of faith... disturbing.
6. Beat the Bad Teams: Commenter RKE: "A caveat: Dallas really sucks." True. The thing is, I wasn't sure that United was much better than a mediocre team at the start of this season, and losing to a team that sucks seemed, well, something I should expect. I'm still getting used to the idea that United might, might, be good.
   

The Bad

1. Rodney Wallace on the Corner Kick: With Wallace's speed, either he has to beat Rocha to the spot where Rocha notched the first goal of the game, or at least be goal side. I wasn't thrilled by Kocic's positioning on that goal, but even if he was where I thought he should be, that ball still finds the net. That being said, does anyone think Fred defends that better?
   
2. Chris Pontius: DCUMD has a nice category of "The Rail" for games like this, where you want to talk about things that aren't quite right, but aren't truly bad. So this is a misnomer, it wasn't truly bad, but it wasn't strong. I am concerned about our willingness to throw a rookie into so many positions. I worry that he won't acquire the comfort with any position should he encounter difficulty, and that will make things difficult down the road.
3. Milos Kocic: Very nervy start. While I appreciate his ability to punch each ball, I think a friend of mine had the right observation. If you are upset because Kenny Cooper bumped you, then you weren't making him pay enough. Wreck some havoc when you get off your line. Kenny bumped you? He'll stop when you go through him and make him pay a price.
   

Officiating Watch

Center ref Ricardo Salazar seemed to be playing a "no foul or a card" type of match early on, a style of officiating I am not particularly enamored with. That being said, he blew the whistle more frequently when things started to boil over, and that seemed right to me. The ARs were on top of the match.

Likert Scale Grade: 3 - Average

Karma Bank

So a win means only a potential karma burn, and I don't see much in that respect. If anything, we would have been owed karma with a lesser result, so no change for the game, and we're still in debt at -1 for the season.

Man of the Match

Jaime Moreno. You don't need me to explain this.

Certificate of Merit to Marc Burch, Bryan Namoff, and Dejan Jakovic. Grunthos has this exactly right: "Let me give a shout-out to the defense, which played well as a unit for the first time in 18 months or more."

Honorary Certificate of Merit to Simeon Varlamov.

Final Thoughts

I'm not ready to start buying post-season game plans yet, but I am starting to believe this team could be a better team than I thought. The Eastern Conference, even without an expansion franchise, does appear to be the weaker conference, which is both good and bad. It means we may have to face easier competition more times, but it also would not surprise me if the East sent fewer teams to the playoffs.

All of this makes May a very interesting month. After the Kansas City and Toronto matches, United gets a strong RSL team at home and plays the current alpha dog away. Those will be very interesting matches to watch. I'm not even assuming strong results in the first two. But if United does manage, let's say, 4 points from Kansas City and Toronto, I'm not sure it will tell us much more about where we think this team is.

So with all this in mind, we're agreed that the U.S. Open Cup match against Red Bull should again be allocated to the reserves, right?

First Impressions -- D.C. United 2 : 1 F.C. Dallas

In the realm of statistics that ultimately mean nothing, but are none-the-less fun to write, I give you this: D.C. United has not lost a match in which they have conceded the first goal. Again, there is a difference between consistency and resiliency, but D.C. United have the second trait fully demonstrated in the early matches.

The major storyline from this match has to be Jaime Moreno's two goals. That was impressive. Even more impressive was the fact that this wasn't a case where Moreno was quiet for most of the match, and suddenly snuck free for his two goals. Instead, Jaime had been active the entire match. With no Gomez in the starting lineup, Moreno was very effective coming back to midfield and distributing the ball. United's attack looked potent. Quaranta, Pontius, and Moreno all put balls low and hard and just beyond the far post in the first half. United's possession was purposeful and intense, but ultimately unrewarded when Dallas took the early lead. Still, it was clear that United's midfield had Dallas flummoxed for the most part, and the two goals in the second half were both beautifully executed by Moreno and exquisitely set up by Namoff and Gomez respectively.

Tom Soehn did look to lock down the match, but unlike previous matches where it seemed a switch was flipped to "bunker," this match featured a more gradual transition starting around the 70th minute. It began with Wallace sliding back, then the substitution of Jacobson And as a result, it seemed more effective and easier for United to accommodate. Furthermore, it was clear that United's defense was starting to lose its shape and confidence as the half wore on, and the injection of defensive support was called for. This is the right way to try and lock down a win.

The start of Milos Kocic was a surprise, and he did seem a bit nervy in the first half. However, while he never dominated his box with full control, he does earn points with me for getting to all of his punches.

My first impression is that this was the best match that Jaime Moreno has had all season, even without the goals, and the best coached match Tom Soehn may have ever put forward. We will look at some of the bad in the debrief, but I am overall pleased with pretty much every facet of this match. Man of the match is Moreno. Certificates of Merit to Marc Burch, Bryan Namoff, Santino Quaranta, and Christian Gomez. Or at least that's what I'm thinking as we approach debrief.

First Impressions - D.C. United 2 : 2 F.C. Dallas

This is a frustrating way to drop two points that were well within grasp. United had a 2-1 lead, and looked marginally the better side. Still, Dallas was finding moments of slicing through the defense, and so it was that Eric Avila slipped down the left side of the defense and send the ball outside of the diving Crayton to Rocha, and United found themselves settling for one point instead of taking all three.

Still, I suppose, it's important to remember that if Zach Wells was in goal, United loses this game. It's not much in the way of comfort, but it is something. What I find somewhat mysterious was the final substitution of Dyachenko for Guerrero. Guerrero can actually provide some defense on the flank, he's been showing more in every game. Rod... not so much. Why not sub in someone more defensive minded? Let's take a look at the bench:

Cordeiro, Doe, and Thompson. Yikes. Okay, so that explains it -- there isn't any defensive depth to sub in and help lock the game down. Which is pretty damning. At this point, Perralta and Vide were scratches, but Pat Carroll and Mike Zaher were both unavailable? What would have happened had Martinez or Namoff gone down early?

Which says something. Even with new acquisitions, the need for defensive depth has never been so clearly demonstrated as in this match. It cost us two points today. And, perhaps, a playoff spot in the future.

Debriefing for Match 12.22: At F.C. Dallas

F.C. Dallas 0 : 4 D.C. United

Six Word Novel Recap

Lesson to Dallas: "Resurrection is rare."

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Times, Milenko Martinovich: " If there was any doubt whether D.C. United was ready for a run at the Eastern Conference title, it was erased last night."
The Washington Post, Steve Davis: "Olsen's two first-half strikes propelled D.C. United to a 4-0 victory over FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday night. Not only did the streaking club post its biggest road win since 1998, it was United's sixth consecutive league victory, matching last year's lengthy winning streak."
The Dallas Morning News, Gabriel Cabarrouy: "Sala appeared slow to dive to the right and got punished for it. The Argentinean goalie hadn't started a game in a month because of a left knee sprain... Morrow would only say that Sala was healthy and had been training for the last 10 days."
UnitedMania, Chris Webb: "Of particular note in this match was the return of defender Bobby Boswell to the starting X1 and he repaid Tom Soehn's confidence with a fantastic match in which he controlled the normally dangerous Carlos Ruiz in check and also managed to sweep a ball off the line when the score was still 1-0 to United midway through the first half. Troy Perkins got his fifth shutout in six matches and United has now got an amazing road scoreless streak now tabled at 431 minutes without conceding a goal. Now that is impressive."
3rd Degree, Jamie Fougerousse: "After giving up a fairly soft goal to Ben Olsen in the opening minutes of the game, Dallas looked to be containing things and searching for a way to break down DC’s defense. Just before halftime, Olsen scored again, and a lethargic Dallas team allowed two more in the opening five minutes of the second half. From then on the only story was a bunkered DC defense and some fancy footwork by Denilson as the Hoops showed what was hopefully just the rust of two weeks off."
Booked for Dissent, Dave Lifton: "Let Me Be The First To Say This…Ben Olsen for MLS MVP" [Note: Yes, as noted by Dave, he was the first to say this. Beat me by an hour. Impressive. Now, I don't think Ben really is the MLS MVP, but he may be the key to United this year, and should be considered for the house honors if nothing else. We need to talk about this at some point.]
The Edgell Supporters: "This means we have depth at defense, but not only do we have depth we have clean sheet depth. The first 15-20 minutes were a bit of a struggle but everyone pulled together at the back to keep the ball out of the net. Even with all the offense Dallas was throwing at us early, they only managed 2 shots on goal."
Six Yards North, QJA: "As long as we're talking about success stories, let's give a good, long shout out to Clyde Simms. Carroll earned himself a suspension by dint of too many yellows but I'm inclined to think that Simms would have started anyways. Simms plays with a style that is strong and yet humble, as evidenced by his effort to assist Olsen's cracker in the 4th. He scampers up to steal Sala's poor clearance follows his first instinct: pass. How many players do you know that would pass the ball of after stealing it 25 yards out in center midfield?"
BlckDgRd, BDR: "...I need to moderate my tendency to reach grand conclusions - good or bad - off a single game's result, so cautious and restrained and brief enthusiasm only. Here's what's different: Unlike the last two seasons, United appears to be accelerating into September rather than gasping toward October. United looks fresh, not only in terms of fitness and energy but also creative impetus." [Note: Good advice all the way around]
Poplar Point Perspective, JCM: "...this is the most surprising result of the entire season."
An American's View, Brian Garrison: "I had to admit, coming into Saturday nights match, I was a little concerned. United was set to face one of the top clubs in the Western Conference and face them on the road. FC Dallas were coming in with about two weeks worth of rest on their backs and some new Brazilian set to make his debut. It had the makings of the end of a 5 game winning streak...Instead, it just became a 6 game winning streak. "

The Good

1. Everyone Knew It Could Happen, Yet it Didn't: Yes, everyone liked DC United being up 3-nil early in the second half. And everyone was thinking about a repeat of the game at RFK when United gave away a three goal lead. What's more, everyone knew that everyone else knew as well, and you knew the players knew the players knew that you knew it as well. With all of that, only one FC Dallas goal would have made things a bit squeeky, but it didn't happen because United were happy not only to slow the game down on offense, but also to play a defense that slowed FC Dallas down. Force them into the middle, make them string together passes, don't get into wind sprints. Smart all the way around.
2. The Return of Bobby Boswell: The comments in the first impressions thread are worth reading, as there are great points all the way around. I think that Urban gets it right, and there is something to think about in a Carroll-Boswell parallel. Personally, I felt more convinced of this defensive clean sheet than others, but I honestly believe that the Perkins - Burch-Vanney-Boswell-Namoff-Simms defensive corp is the best lineup we have, and that McTavish (or Mediate) are nice when you need them. Of course, I'm biased.
   
3. Talk of the Nation with Jaime Moreno: Ben Olsen is a known yapper, but it was nice to see Jaime get in a few verbal jabs. Yes, Jaime goes down easily sometimes, but teams really are hacking the hell out of him.
4. Asserted through the Midfield: The biggest thing wasn't Fred creating chances, or Olsen's brace, but rather the way Simms, Vanney, and Boswell dealt with Juan Toja. Much better this time, as they would zonally mark him, perhaps give him a touch, but never really let him run at anyone or down the goal. If George Kennan were alive today, he'd think of an entirely new way to contain that communist threat, and it would involve Clyde Simms.
   

The Bad

1. Not Like it Seemed: This was a good result, but 4-nil is misleading. Seriously, if Sala makes a few saves, and Ruiz connects with that shot to the corner (or Boswell doesn't clear the line) then this game ends 2-1. Still in United's favor, which is what it should have been, but 4-nil is flattering. Really, it was a good, complete game, but this isn't the scoreline to which we should be calibrating.
   
2. Brian Hall: Once United had established the lead, it seemed like he just wanted to get the game over with. Still, some of that shirt tugging you have to call. Neither team was helped, but c'mon, earn that paycheck.
3. We are not deep: I know it seems that way, but there are, shall we say, critical junctions. More on that later.
   

Man of the Match

Marc Burch. Figured in most of the goals with some neat crossing ability, had some fairly good defense (never exposed, but beaten once I think. That's fine.) Adds something to this team that we've sorely been missing.

Karma Bank

+3 entering the season. -1 for Olsen's first strike (that had to be a bit lucky), -1 for Toja having an empty net and shooting at Boswell's knee, +1 for Gomez's goal which was quite pretty. -1 for the game, +2 for the season.

Final Thoughts

The thing about a game like this is that it's almost the identical thing you have to do with a bad loss. Just like you need to forget a bad loss and not let it get you down, this is a game that should be forgotten so as not to get delusions of invincibility. Accordingly, I will not speak of this game any more.

Instead, let's look at Chivas. Undefeated at home. Identical path to United recently in terms of Shield Pace. Another first year head coach in Preki that took a bit of time to figure out his team, but finally did it. Some good pace that can play havoc with United's back line (though they've handled pace better as the year has gone on). Again, in the Dallas-Chivas-Revs set of games we were hoping for five points overall. We have three, and getting one against Chivas is no embarrassment. Play smart, play compact, and don't give up the game.

Right now, the Supporter's Shield is the most important trophy United is pursuing. Not MLS Cup (yet). Not Sudamericana. The Supporter's Shield is the focus. That doesn't, however, mean winning every game and playing the team out. We almost lost the shield that way last year. No, let's manage the team, keep the rotations going, and look for progress over time remaining rather than killing the team for each game. We're still in the "manage for a season" mode, not "manage for a game." If that means resting Emilio, or Moreno, or Olsen, or whomever, then that's fine. We still have two months, let's be patient and finish this off right.

First Impressions - FC Dallas 0 : 4 D.C. United

There are a lot of things going right for United. Perkins has regained his form, the emergence of McTavish and Burch, the gold tinted boots of Emilio... but perhaps the biggest thing going right for United right now is Ben Olsen. If I had to pick United's Player of the Year, it would be Ben. When I first saw him on the wing against CD Olimpia, I thought it was a stop-gap measure at best, a horrible mistake at worst. However, I was proven wrong, and his brace tonight is simply the most obvious benefits of someone who's work creating high pressure and in controlling play frequently isn't recorded in the box score.

The return of Bobby Boswell should be noted, as Robert played well after a slightly rusty opening ten minutes. However, in the 68th minute he had an excellent series of tackles of Oduro, first poking the ball away then winning the battle to control it. That impressed me more than his goal-line clearance, which was incredibly important but basically required him not to get out of the way of the ball. The sequence later was a nice moment. Mr. Urban has left a comment on this blog after we wrote about the team missing Boswell's abilities as a sweeper, wondering if that wasn't precisely the problem, and that the team wanted Boswell to mark tighter and not play behind to clean up messes. Tonight showed he could do both.

That being said, I'm tempted to give Man of the Match to Marc Burch, who was creating havoc all night. For all of the talk about Vanney's left foot, it is interesting to see Burch continuing to take corners even with Vanney on the field. And they are dangerous corners. I can't remember the last time I actually anticipated seeing a player send in a cross, or play a corner, from the flanks the way Burch can. All of that and pretty decent defense in this game as well, as he stayed with Denilson well when Denilson would roam to the left flank.

A good night, and a decent result. Again, the goal from now to New England on the 9th was five points. This is a great way to start playing these games.

The Supporter's Shield Pace Report: August 29, 2007

We've had a few calls (including one today) for an update on the race for the Supporter's Shield, and since we haven't looked at things since May it seems like a good time to do so. We'll start with a league wide look, and then look at the implications for DC United towards the end of this post. For those that aren't familiar with this concept, we essentially envisioned a "pace team" that average 1.9 points-per-game in its results, and then map all the other teams against them. 1.9 was selected since any team since the elimination of the shootout that averaged 1.9 ppg would have won the supporter's shield. In fact, teams have won the shield with less ppg, as in 2004 when Columbus took the shield with only 1.63ppg. However, that's not a safe rate of return, as New England's 2005 return of 1.84ppg probably would have been good enough in any other year, but they lost out to San Jose's blistering 2.0ppg.

Okay, so here's how the teams have played out the season so far. Each week we check their point total against the pace team, and it maps out like this (click for larger view):

No team is on the pace right now, but some are clearly closer than others. D.C. United leads the pack, they're only 1 point off of the pace team through 21 games. There's also some pretty clear grouping in terms of the remaining teams. Given how difficult it is to sustain pace, a team that's the same number of points off the pace as another team but has played more games is probably in better shape than their supposed equal. Therefore, here are the top teams contending for the Supporter's Shield right now, in order:

1. DC United (-1 pt with 21 Games Played [GP])
2. New England Revolution (-2 pts with 23GP)
3. CD Chivas USA (-2 pts with 21 GP)
4. FC Dallas (-4 pts with 21 GP)
5. Houston Dynamo (-6 pts with 23 GP)

For me, Chivas is perhaps the big surprise to see their name up here, but that's how it plays out. There are also a few teams that would require a tremendous run of results in the end of the season to make it, but are still at least remotely possible. New York at -9 pts though 22 GP and Kansas City with -10 pts through 22GP could conceivably put it together, but it would be difficult. The rest of the teams must pin their hopes the MLS Cup or a Superliga finish to get international play next year.

So how will it play out? Just for kicks, here are the remaining schedules for the top 5 contending teams, with bolded games being matches against other top 5 teams that could really affect the race:

D.C. United: @FCD, @CHV, NE, RSL, @CHI, TFC, @KC, CHI, CLB
New England Revolution: @DCU, FCD, @NY, COL, @CHI, CLB, @TFC
C.D. Chivas USA: DCU, NY, LA, @COL, KC, CHI, @RSL, @FCD, COL, HOU
F.C. Dallas: DCU, TFC, @NE, CHI, @LA, HOU, @CLB, CHV, KC
Houston Dynamo: KC, RSL, @LA, @FCD, LA, RSL, @CHV

The big point staring us in the face is how large the next three games loom for United in the quest for the shield. All three have the potential to really set put things in United's favor, or put them in a spot where they are chasing the field without any six point swing games. Same deal for New England. The strength of schedule in the other games is comparable for pretty much all the teams, with perhaps New England having the most difficult and Houston having perhaps the easiest (although they have the most ground to make up of the top 5 right now). No one is running away with things yet. United can also go into the next three games and not be devestated by a draw in any one of them. Right now, draws hurt United less than the other five teams given that United is on top. 5 of 9 points from the next three games would probably be good enough to maintain United as a strong competitor. However, a quick losing streak would really hurt.

So what are we saying? I'm saying that right now the next three consecutive games have larger implications then you might think, especially that Chivas game. United's road gets much easier after that, but will it be easier to maintain their position, or easier to get back atop the table? That'll be the big question. Every game matters.

Tuesday Coffee is Bitter

IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE, IT MUST BE FRED: Steve Goff with a profile of Fred, which is a nice little morsel of reading.

...it was clear to those around him that he needed time to adjust to not only United's style and MLS's demands, but to a new way of life. His wife's arrival was delayed by visa issues, and he did not take well to the cold weather in preseason in Washington and in several of the early international and league matches. "He's cold at our team meetings in the air conditioning," Coach Tom Soehn said with a laugh.

I am still a Fred believer (or rather, a "da Silva" believer since I wasn't one of those who thought he should get the first name on the jersey just yet). However, one wonders how he feels as of today, and I get the sense that this article might have been written before the Dallas game, given that Goff is on vacation. But that's me being overly demanding. How he feels about the 3-0 to 3-3 collapse doesn't matter that much.

FRUSTRATION STATION: Over the weekend, the Washington Times ran a piece on United's efforts to spur the stadium deal onward. The article is specifically triggered by United's recent "contact the city" message. It is interesting to note that they declined to comment for this article, but that didn't stop some other jabberjaws from chiming in:

"If there's frustration, it is from the sense that United and its fans have been paying their dues for years now," said D...who runs "The DCenters," a D.C. United fan Internet blog. "Every year Mayor [Anthony] Williams, and this year Mayor Fenty, would come out on opening day and talk about helping us get a home of our own, and a season would pass and we'd still be no closer. That's frustrating year after year, especially when you see structures going up near Potomac Avenue."

City officials stopped short of promising a stadium would be included in the city's plans for Poplar Point, but claimed to speak with D.C. United officials at least once every other week.

Wow, that D is a real prick. Why didn't he mention all the positives for the city in the plan, or talk about United's community outreach? Well, he did, and I have a complete copy of my, er, D's conversation with the reporter on this story, which I might put up as a separate post. It was clear that the real focus of the story was on the "frustration" element, so my response to that question was what was quoted. And I wasn't misquoted or anything like that, it was completley fair and transparent. Do I wish more was said about the positive things for city in the stadium proposal? Yes, but that's okay. This article is marginally supportive as a whole, putting the idea of the stadium in the forefront. Plans that don't have the stadium are the "alternative" plans, while the stadium idea should be the main plan. That's a nice thing that the DC United efforts have accomplished.

MORE DALLAS: DCist weighs in, and a look at the Leafblower photo gallery is always time well spent.

Debriefing for 12.15: F.C. Dallas

D.C. United 3 : 3 F.C. Dallas

Six Word Novel Recap

Three goals surrendered, two points missed.

Media, Traditional and Otherwise

The Washington Times, Mark Medina: "United scored in the eighth minute, when forward Fred crossed the ball to Moreno, who marched inside the 18-yard line on the right flank. To avoid a slide tackle from FC Dallas defender Clarence Goodson, Moreno passed to forward Luciano Emilio inside the box. Emilio tapped the ball in for the 1-0 lead. Before the end of the first half, Boswell lobbed a well-placed pass to Moreno from midfield. Moreno immediately fed Fred, who headed the ball into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead...Then came United's goal in the second half..."
The Dallas Morning News, Ryan Mink: "FC Dallas (9-6-3) rallied at RFK Stadium to earn a 3-3 tie. A flu-ridden Toja played 83 minutes before leaving the game. He recorded his first two-goal game of the season, netting FC Dallas' second goal in the 71st minute, followed by the game-tying goal on a header in the 81st minute."
The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "D.C. United earned a point... but because of the astonishing way in which the match unfolded, the only thing for United to do afterward was accept it as a loss."
UnitedMania, Jimmy LaRoue: "Soehn rued the team’s lack of organization, but United never seemed to transition from its big lead into closing off the match."
Six Yards North, QJA: "...Perkins let us down. His form not only regressed from last week, but it regressed over the course of those ninety minutes."
The Edgell Supporters: "This felt worse than any loss I have experienced to date."
Poplar Point Perspective: "The referee was very questionable, but not the reason for the loss. He just made it easier for Dallas to come back."
QuarterVolley, I-66: "On the middle goal, you could fault Brian Carroll’s defense, or perhaps Perkins for not coming out and challenging the closing Toja. Overall, after the 3rd United goal, the hunger for victory seemingly ceased to remain." [D - I disagree with this. After the third goal, United did press for the 4th goal to regain the victory, and was better at putting pressure on Dallas. The desire was there, the discipline to maintain the lead earlier was not.]
An American's View, Brian Garrison: "I blame the four defenders. I really do. All three goals were the result of sloppy play on the side of our defense...when you have a 3-0 lead in the second half, the ref could step off the field and you should still be able to win 3-2 at the very least."
BlackDogRed, BDR: "If the problem with the defense was irreparable differences between Boswell and Erpen, if the two of them could not coexist, and the decision to trade Erpen was based on solely soccer evaluation - that Boswell is the better central defender - whoever made that evaluation should be fired. If the problem with the defense was irreparable differences between Boswell and Erpen, if the two of them could not coexist, and the decision to keep Boswell was based on marketing - he's so hunky! - whoever made that decision should be fired."
Also: Screaming Eagles Podcast

The Good

1. Jaime Moreno: As one of those who has been advocating rotating Moreno in among the forwards, let's acknowledge that he was excellent in this game. His vision and pace were miles better than what we saw before Copa America. Here's the thing about Jaime: He can be two kinds of annoying. There's the annoying Jamie who skillfully eludes markers in the box, dancing amid the defenders but never quite pulling the trigger to score the goal. Then there's the annoying Jaime who seems disinterested for most of the game, whose passes are predictable and largely non-productive. This game saw the return of the first type of annoying Jaime, and I was never so happy to be so frusturated. Man, he can still cause problems, and it is beautiful even as you wish he would shoot the damn ball... but can he keep that up in the summer heat?
2. Luciano Emilio: What I like about Emilio is that he scores when he should score. Open net, easy tap-in? He takes those well, and doesn't overhit the shot or try to be too complicated. In that sense, he is the perfect compliment to Moreno. You have to love that.
   
3. Toja: I thought the league was starting to adapt to him. Maybe they are, but United didn't. For the first half, United handled him fairly well, forcing him to pass away when he was streaking forward, and the ball was usually errant and easily handled. The second half he was strong and confident and gutsy. A truly impressive performance.
   

The Bad

1. Brian Carroll: At this point, the unwillingness to start either Olsen or Simms in the CDM role is becoming a major folly. Carroll when playing disciplined was acceptable, but he seemed unable to keep up with the pace of the game, and as a result the game got away from him. In the first half, you may have noticed Ben Olsen consistently making "settle down" type gestures to the team. Brian Carroll needed that advice more than anyone later in the game.
   
2. Vanney and Boswell: The thing about Facundo Erpen is that his boneheaded plays were so spectacular in nature that the eye was naturally drawn to them. Passing it directly to another player? Erpen would do that. Bicycle backpasses? Amazingly, flashingly stupid. Here's the thing: Vanney also commits a lot of poor plays, they're just not flashy and eye catching. Easy headers into a space five yards closer to a Dallas player than a DC player? Poor communication on how to clear a ball? Failure to put his body on a player in a set piece? All things Vanney commited that are just as harmful as Erpen's play. Boswell is getting reamed by BDR above, and while I disagree with the intensity, Boswell was thoroughly pedestrian last night. Boswell is still better than Erpen was, but he shouldn't be better than Vanney is, especially given the fact that Boswell was not particularly good. He's lost some of the bite to his game.
   
3. Perkins: It's already been noted that he's taken the blame for not getting to two balls and shutting down the attack, but the other aspect of the game that was troubling was his distribution, a moment epitomized when he sent a low ball about forty-five yards right to the feet of the Dallas attack.
   
4. Kpene: Some are calling his play poor or lazy. To me, it seemed like he was playing as though he were afraid of reinjuring himself. It wasn't lazy, or bad, but very, very timid. I think the two hamstring injuries may have affected his mental toughness. That's something that will have to be overcome.
   
5. Tim Weyland: It's not that any of his calls were particularly bad, it's that he was calling a different game for Dallas and DC, a problem that accentuated until the 80th minute. Marginal fouls were consistently given to Dallas, and were not given to DC United. It's almost as though he believed that the offside non-call resulting in United's second goal was wrong (it wasn't, look at the Dallas right back [Drew Moor?]) and shaded his calling appropriately. Which is ridiculous. The fact that United starting getting calls after the game was tied really is the kicker, as though he felt it was acceptable to remove the filter at that point. A cynically officiated match.
   

Man of the Match

N/A

Karma Bank

-1 for giving up three goals, since that shouldn't be allowed to happen. However, +1 for dealing with Weyland's officiating, and +1 for playing some smart, nifty passes to generate goals in the first half. +1 for the game, overall EVEN for the season.

Final Thoughts

First, I don't know why Justin Moose is in the dog house. Supposedly the management are upset about his defense, but him not even making the bench means that Soehn had limited options for trying to regain the win after the game was tied. Moose adds attacking fire, something that might have helped at the death.

Second, Soehn's ability to adjust the lineup depending on the time seems to have deserted him. If he was considering locking down the game, why not bring Simms into the match earlier? Why not add in a Burch or Mediate to the defense and push Gros up for Fred? If Soehn is upset about the way the team tactically responded to the three goal lead (you can hear him complaining about sending too many number forward on the SE Podcast) then he should also be honest enough to admit that he didn't do enough himself. It is starting to feel a little Piotr Nowak-esque in terms of the predictability of substitutions, as well as their timing (far, far too late).

Now we head into the all-star break. There's some time for some introspection. The feeling among some of you was that this team was making a run to MLS Cup. I still don't look at this team as the favorite to come out of the East, and personally I think that moves made with an idea of adding a fifth star this year are likely to make the future more untenable and also not likely to reward us with another trophy, the worst of both worlds. United's first five games after the break are a chance for them to change my mind, but that's where I am mentally.

First Impressions - DC United 3 : 3 FC Dallas

This was so close to an impressive victory. Not just starting out, but fighting through obstacles to win. And while I'm upset with referee Tim Weyland, I am much more annoyed with the fact that no team under pretty much any conditions should be giving up 3-0 leads at the 50th minute. That's ridiculous. What's more, the center of the defense seemed to be giving way, as both Boswell and Vanney took their turns at being caught out for the goals. And even then...well... I feel like I should be more angry than I am, but the team did keep going after letting Dallas in the game, and pushed for the win.

A few things are apparent. Greg Vanney has yet to prove to be an upgrade during the run of play defensively over Facundo Erpen. Second, Toja clearly has another gear for when he needs to dig deep, and that's impressive. Third, Brian Carroll's year is not getting better, given the way Dallas was able to slice through the midfield at times.

Ah, I figured out it out. I'm not angry because I'm annoyed, tense, and sad, and somehow that's monopolozing my emotions. Going to listen to some happy music, then go to bed. Maybe that'll relax me.

Match Briefing For 12.15: FC Dallas

Match #: 12.15

Opponent:
FC Dallas
29 pts, 21GF, 21GA, +/- 0 GD
2nd place Western Conference, 2nd place MLS

Six Word Novel Preview: Distributed attack - Nine players with goals.

TV: Comcast Sports Net (7:30PM), MLSLive.TV

Radio: WMET 1160AM

Previous Meeting: First meeting this season.

The Stakes: United has three consecutive performances on the road that were not dominating by any stretch of the imagination. Dallas, with 17 games played, is suddenly in a situation where a team has caught them, creating a realistic view of the Western Conference race for the first time all year. This game is all about staying in the horse race for both teams.

Previews from the DCUniverse: QuarterVolley, The Edgell Supporters
Previews from FC Dallastan: Pending

Expectations: With Ruiz struggling, Cooper out, and the league starting to figure out Toja, Odura will have to shoulder much of the load for Dallas, and while I have respect for his ability, I'm not sure there's enough fire power to race with United. Which means that they'll be trying to keep the game as close as possible. If United can break through or score early on a set play, they should earn the win.

What to look for?

• The return of Jamie Moreno will be tested. He should play in this match, but we may also see some clue if Soehn is planning on running him out as the everyday starter, or if Addlery or Kpene have done enough to make Soehn comfortable with a rotation.
• Midfield Substitutions. I believe Goff reported the idea that Olsen may move back to center midfield, and Gros would move to left wing. Of course, that plan may be delayed with the stories that Namoff is not matchfit yet. I think Moose as an option for later in the game has to be considered, but I think Dyanchenko may not offer much for spelling Christian Gomez.
• The Vanney/Boswell experiment has now had a bit of time to congeal: This will be the start of the games where they're expected to be playing at full speed and in sympatico. If the center of the defense can hold, how good are McTavish and Gros (and perhaps Mediate) in getting outside and shutting down flank attacks, forcing poor crosses?
  

Friday Coffee means splurging for the Mocha

VANNEY/BOSWELL PROFILED:

Charles Boehm at MLSNet talks about the new center of DC's backline, and Tom Soehn explicitly endorses the idea of Vanney as mentor to Boswell:

"...we've got a veteran to play alongside him, which is going to be another experience for Bobby. So far it looks pretty good."

Does that mean I'm now sold on the deal? Not yet. It still seems like a bit of a roll of the dice to me, and even with The Devon McTavish phenomena, we're still a bit short of depth on defense. Still, overall, the defense is playing better, and that should be acknowledged. After allowing two goals a game at minimum for most of April, United has only allowed 2 goals twice since then. That's at least enough to keep you in the game.

DALLAS PREVIEWS TRICKLING IN: Alex Yi joins Cooper and Mina on the disabled list for Dallas. So far, Yi had actually looked decent (and very, very feisty) on the Dallas backline, so I'm relieved that we'll be passing him by. He seemed like a player that could seriously hack up the timing of DC's offense. We'll try and get our preview up later.

THURSDAY NIGHT SOCCER REVIEW: I-66 has had it with ESPN missing the action, but in their defense I thought last night's game was a better showing for ESPN than usual. We saw, even if it was in a still replay, some off-side line technology, and it looked useful. That being said, when Rob Stone announced that there would be a Beckham interview at the half of the all-star game, my wife turned to me: "What, they couldn't ask him to call in on the phone around the 50th minute?"

THIS MUST BE COLORADO'S NEW MASCOT: For one thing, it's more in the Edson's the Eagle's backyard. For another, Talon's wouldn't go down so easily, he'd be taking that sucker out and then would take out his good-for-nothing beaver friend:

During a last-call stroll through Pioneer Square early Sunday morning, Seattle's top law dog helped break up a sidewalk fight between a bar patron and a man in an eagle suit.

Lt. Kenneth Hicks, shift commander at the precinct that includes Pioneer Square, was leading Kerlikowske on a closing-time tour of the club district when the senior officers witnessed a man-on-eagle fracas, according to police documents.

The officers watched as a 30-year-old Seattle man shoved the eagle to the curb and then stomped on the costumed man's back as the eagle's costumed confederate -- a man dressed as a beaver -- looked on.

Thursday Night Soccer Thoughts

For a 1-0 game, Thursday Night Soccer was entertaining enough. ESPN's coverage was decent. The digressions for the most part did not interrupt the run of play, except for the obligatory 30 at 30 update during a corner kick and the interview with Don Garber, which was consequential enough that it warranted being shown either at half time or pregame, not during the run of play. The Eddie Pope tributes were decent, though perhaps a little thin given what he gave to this league. Stone, Wynalda, and Smyth were solid and perhaps overly subdued in the booth, but work well together. I say this knowing that Stone gets over excited anytime a player uses his back heel, he still calls a decent game. Wynalda's halftime segment could benefit from perhaps an additional minute, as it never goes beyond "Messi, handball, I don't like it. Don't do that. Yellow card." But hey, at least he didn't red card NASA for the computers failing on the international space station.

As for the game, I will say this. Mehdi Ballouchy should pay half of Freddy Adu's salary. Quite simply, Mehdi was invisible for most of this game, had a number of poor decisions and touches, but since everyone was quick to get their opinions out on Freddy, no one noticed how awful Ballouchy was for most of the game. RSL's back line isn't much better. I admire Kreis for putting out the line-up he did, and the team played well against Dallas. I mean, that defense is going to allow Rimando to get peppered even with six in the back, so why not try and get some goals since Rimando's reactions might be good enough in any given game to keep you in it. Kreis is probably the first coach who has learned how to implement tactical changes with RSL, as they came out much better in the second half than the first. They truly are snakebitten somehow, and things seem worse than they probably are. Kreis may have been ejected, but official Ricardo Salazar seemed to mentally check out of Rice-Eccles Stadium about ten minutes earlier, so perhaps that was the only way Kreis could find a way to talk to him.

Dallas did not look particularly good missing Cooper and Ruiz. Abe Thompson is a nice enough guy and a Maryland product, but simply brought nothing to the table as the loan striker. Toja is a great defensive midfielder, but as a playmaker seemed average at best. That they got three points at the death seems fortunate for that team. Especially considering that if Esky doesn't find Dario Sala's shin, I think RSL could easily have claimed their first win of the season.

Lamar Hunt, 1932-2006

Even when titanic figures in MLS or US Soccer pass-on, the DCenters usually remains silent unless there is a direct DC United connection. Lamar Hunt is no exception, except for the fact that his influence was so big, so important, that we must note and pay our respects to the man. If nothing else (and there was so much more), Hunt's attachment with MLS conferred more respect on this league and its legitimacy as an aspiring sports organization than any other individual I can think of. Investors knew that Hunt is one of the few people who had already successfully taken on the established sports hierarchy in the USA and won. Since the AFL/NFL merger, we have seen countless organizations bid for America's attention and fail to achieve much notice. The WLAF, XFL, Arena Football League, and USFL all took shots at trying to carve a niche out, and all have faded back if not out of the picture entirely. The AFC is still around. So is MLS, and if there's no MLS, there's no DC United. He may not have given a second thought to this market, but it didn't matter. His presence alone gave us space to work in, and a chance to establish what we enjoy. The appreciations of Lamar Hunt deserve to be wide-ranging, and I'm glad they are. Thank you Lamar. Thanks for giving us MLS, and keeping it here long enough for my DC United to beat your Wizards in 2004. Even as your team lost, I hope you knew that to some degree, we all owed you one.