When asked to explain the difference between his team’s first 20 games (13-1-6) and its last six (1-2-3), United head coach Peter Nowak responded succinctly: “Officiating.”
Asked if he could expand on that: “Not really.”
Nowak is mindful of the potential cost of voicing dissent. But in Saturday’s match against Real Salt Lake, D.C. dominated possession in the 1-1 draw and Salt Lake had only seven fouls while United had 15.
Opponents had more fouls than D.C. in 10 of its first 20 matches. United has registered the same or more fouls in the last six.
“Don’t even get me started, I’ve got a honeymoon to pay for so I’m not going to say anything about the referees,” said United midfielder Ben Olsen. “It just seems like there’s this sense of people knowing, you know, that — I don’t even want to get into the refs. I don’t want to get into it, and not for the fine. It’s more just our focus needs to be on ourselves right now, and the little things that we can do to put together great games.”
United has clinched a postseason berth is closing in on sealing the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
“The whole thing is we’ve only got a handful of games left in the season,” said United defender Brandon Prideaux. “Every team istrying to position itself for the playoffs, including us. So every game from here on out is that much more important.”
