Shutout provides a bit of a mental boost The scoreless draw might be one of the worst things in soccer. But for D.C. United, achieving such a result is a positive.
By holding the Vancouver Whitecaps without a shot on goal in last weekend’s 0-0 tie, D.C. United (0-2-1) earned its first shutout in 12 matches, a span that reached back to September, when it was still in the hunt for the 2011 playoffs.
| Up next |
| FC Dallas at D.C. United |
| When » Friday, 7:30 p.m. |
| Where » RFK Stadium |
| TV » NBC Sports Network |
United is already playing catch-up early in 2012, but the team is confident it turned the corner in British Columbia and is poised for its first victory of the season at home against FC Dallas (1-1-1) on Friday.
“The first 80 minutes, I wasn’t worried about the game,” United defender Brandon McDonald said when asked about the Vancouver match. “From the 85th [minute] on — that’s when we normally give up the goals, and then we had four minutes of stoppage time. I was like, ‘Holy hell, here we go again.’ The whistle blew, and I was like, ‘That’s a stepping stone.’?”
The stalwart defensive effort also came without two regulars. Goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who returned from the U.S. under-23 national team’s failed Olympic qualifying bid with a sprained left ankle, will miss another one to three weeks, while center back Dejan Jakovic remains questionable with a groin strain. In Jakovic’s place, Argentinian newcomer Emiliano Dudar made his first start against Vancouver and may make it difficult for United coach Ben Olsen to take him off the field.
Dallas’ Brek Shea and United’s Perry Kitchen, who both also were with the under-23s, likely will return to their respective places in the starting lineup. Kitchen’s replacement, Marcelo Saragosa, returned to Brazil this week for a family medical emergency.
United’s next step is generating some offense, and it will do so with designated player Branko Boskovic as a reserve for the third straight game. But Olsen has made it priority and a focus to build from the back with the hope that scoring eventually will follow.
“We have to decide that we’re going to be a tough team to play against physically,” he said. “If you don’t have that in this league, it’s always going to be an uphill battle.”
