After spending much of the season so far as seldom or unused substitutes, both Hamdi Salihi and Branko Boskovic are back in the starting lineup for D.C. United tonight against the Colorado Rapids.
Salihi will make his first start in seven games after starting at forward in five of United’s first six. Boskovic will make just his second start of the year since the season opener. His only playing time in D.C.’s last five matches came in the final 45 minutes against Toronto.
Neither selection is the result of playing their way back into the good graces of United head coach Ben Olsen, but instead comes as a result of injuries and a quick turnaround with a weekend match against Toronto FC looming.
That said, Maicon Santos, who is battling a calf strain, snaps a run of five straight starts (and 10 in United’s past 11 matches) while Chris Pontius ends his six-match starting streak while he deals with a gluteal muscle issue.
Despite straining his knee last weekend at Houston, Perry Kitchen will make his 10th straight start while Olsen keeps intact the defense from the Dynamo match.
The full lineup: Bill Hamid; Robbie Russell, Brandon McDonald, Daniel Woolard, Chris Korb; Andy Najar, Kitchen, Boskovic, Lewis Neal; Salihi, Dwayne De Rosario.
The bench: Pontius, Cruz, Wolff, King, Saragosa, Jakovic, Willis.
D.C. United also learned this afternoon that it will go on the road to face the Richmond Kickers or host the Aegean Hawks at Maryland SportsPlex on May 29 in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. The Kickers and Hawks play next Tuesday at SportsPlex. The rest of the third round pairings are here.
Meanwhile, with a number of Washington Capitals in attendance, the sounds of D.C.’s own Chuck Brown, the “Godfather of Go-go,” who passed away at the age of 75, will fill RFK Stadium before the game. Rest in Peace.
