Late in the season, busy is a bad sign for United's playoff hopes
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
August 28, 2009
Whether D.C. United wants to admit it or not, the sheer volume of matches it faces over the final three months of the season is likely to affect its success in the Major League Soccer postseason -- if it can manage to secure a berth.
"I want to put something to bed," said head coach Tom Soehn following D.C.'s 3-1 loss to Toluca in CONCACAF Champions League play on Wednesday. "We keep talking about games. It's no different than we've had every year. It's reality. We have games every three days. I don't want to hear it as an excuse. We won't use it as an excuse."
It is also a reality that in every season during Soehn's tenure -- three as an assistant under Peter Nowak, three as head coach -- when United has played at least 18 matches in all competitions from August through October, it has failed to get past the first round of the MLS playoffs.
Since 2004, D.C. also is 2-9-3 in international matches taking place in August or later -- in friendlies and tournament play -- a stretch that includes a win over Municipal (Guatemala) in 2004, a tie with Real Madrid in 2006, and the penalty-shootout advancement past Firpo (which counts as a draw) earlier this month.
"In MLS, people come out, battle, and it's a lot higher pace game," said United midfielder Andrew Jacobson. "Both teams high pressure and kind of know what's coming, whereas you play these CONCACAF games, and they play a completely different game. I think it might be geared toward playing against teams like us."
Intensity and familiarity should play large roles when United (6-5-11) faces rival Chicago this weekend, as D.C. will benefit from a full-strength lineup and the motivation to catch the Fire (10-5-8), who are securely in second place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
"I don't think there's a sense of getting down," said Jacobson of United's current winless stretch, which dates back to a 3-1 win over Colorado on July 18. "... We know we're there. We just gotta get over that hump. This happens to all teams at some point in the season. We know once we get over that hump, it'll click, and we're back."
