United abroad again with a crisis growing at home
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
August 18, 2009
D.C. has dropped out of playoff position
Each team that advances to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League plays a total of six matches. But for D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn, survival and advancement to the next round will be measured in thirds.
"It's not about one game [versus each of the other three teams]," said Soehn. "It's about two games. You're going to have to manage your roster accordingly and make sure you take the series."
To begin play in Group B of the competition on Tuesday, United will meet Marathn on its own turf in Central America, the first of two matches against the Honduran club. They also met in last year's group stage, with Marathn walking away with two-goal victories in each encounter, a 2-0 victory in Honduras and a 4-2 win at RFK Stadium.
D.C. also will face Toluca, from the Mexican first division, and San Jabloteh of Trinidad and Tobago. To advance to the knockout stages in the spring of 2010, United must finish first or second in the group.
On the surface, United appears to possess a roster that will be far more successful than it was last year, when it was an embarrassing 0-5-1 and finished last in its group. But this season could be even more tricky, thanks to deepening problems in domestic play.
In its last seven games, D.C. has gone from first place in the Eastern Conference to fourth, passed by Columbus, Chicago, and most recently, Toronto. The Canadians' 2-0 win at BMO Field on Saturday helped dropped United out of playoff position and to 1-5-6 this year in MLS games outside of Washington.
"We have a mentality at home that we're going to do all the little things to win games," said Soehn after the Toronto match. "Then on the road we throw that all away and think that it's going to come easy for us. We think because we've got talent that's enough. But it's not enough so that's something we have to correct."
