Roster, weather outlooks bright as United preps for Dynamo
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
April 3, 2009
Wicks held out of practice
Thanks to a bizarre combination of torrential downpours and power outages, it took three tries last summer for D.C. United and Houston to get their regular-season game in Washington completed. When the match was finally played on July 23, it wasn’t completed until 1 a.m. after a three-hour rain delay.
“I saw [this weekend’s] weather forecast, and it’s supposed to be good,” said United midfielder Santino Quaranta. “It’s up to RFK to see how they react.”
Having recovered from a hamstring injury, Quaranta is one of a significant group of D.C. players vying for a return against the Dynamo (0-1-1).
Devon McTavish (head laceration) is listed as doubtful while Fred (hamstring) and Greg Janicki (head laceration) have both been upgraded to probable, but goalkeeper Josh Wicks (hip flexor) was the only member of United’s 24-man roster not to train fully on Thursday.
It could open the door for Louis Crayton to make his first start of the season in the net. “I’m on top of my fitness right now,” said Crayton, who has lost three pounds each of the last two weeks. “It’s [the coach’s] decision now what is going to happen on Saturday.”
Quaranta said he’s now feeling the best he has all year, but that doesn’t entitle him to a place in United’s (0-0-2) first eleven.
“I like the challenge of having guys that I have to compete against every day because it makes it better for me on a daily basis,” said Quaranta. “When I’m playing well, I feel like it’s tough to keep me off the field.”
“I think a lot of teams self-destruct because of situations like that where guys can’t swallow their pride,” said United head coach Tom Soehn. “I’ve said it from the beginning, everybody’s got to be patient and know that it’s a deep team and it’s going to be a positive in the end.”
