United face 'little guys' in U.S. Open Cup title defense
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
June 30, 2009
D.C. faces Ocean City in third round Tuesday
D.C. United's third round match in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday marks the proper beginning to their defense of the tournament title they won last September following two play-in matches earlier this season.
But United's latest opponent, the amateur Ocean City Barons of the Premier Developmental League, reminds head coach Tom Soehn and his players of two years ago, when D.C. suffered an embarrassing 1-0 loss to third-tier Harrisburg City in this very round of the competition.
"I've been sharing that message with them, not only myself, but there've been guys on this team that have gone through it," said Soehn. "It's a tournament set up so that even the little guys have a chance."
And the Barons are indeed little guys, having beaten Crystal Palace Baltimore and Real Maryland to earn a $10,000 prize as the deepest advancing amateur team in the tournament.
The South New Jersey-based squad is comprised mainly of current college players, including forwards Ryan Richter (La Salle) and Kyle Miller (Holy Cross) and goalkeeper Tunde Oginbiyi (Boston College).
In 17 matches against MLS sides, PDL teams have a 2-12-2 record, including one penalty kick victory.
"I know how those guys are going to feel," said United defender Greg Janicki, who played for the Michigan Bucks in the PDL before turning pro. "They're going to come out flying, and we're not going to take it lightly."
With Dejan Jakovic called into the Canadian national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and United having waived Anthony Peters, Janicki is likely to make his sixth start of the year, building off a disappointing 45 minutes against Colorado on June 20.
"Anytime you get in there, and you can get game speed and play 90 minutes, you have to take advantage of it," said Janicki. "I know I can play better than I did in Colorado."
D.C. will also be without Jaime Moreno (hamstring), Fred (adductor) and Luciano Emilio (knee).
