Dwayne De Rosario is the man everyone wants to see this evening as D.C. United, wearing a new red uniform at home for the first time, hosts Peter Nowak’s Philadelphia Union squad, which has a slim grasp on first place in MLS’ Eastern Conference – and a plethora of Washington-area products both on the coaching staff and the roster.
But injuries along D.C.’s back line could have at least as much impact as the Canadian playmaker.
For one, right back Jed Zayner is back on the disabled list after undergoing surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee on Friday. Zayner, who was injured in practice on Tuesday, is expected to miss six weeks.
Expected to hold down the right back spot from the start of the year, injuries have limited Zayner to just four MLS games (all starts), in which he’s had one assist in 311 minutes of action.
With Zayner out, rookie Perry Kitchen will move outside, which paves the way for an immediate start at center back for newly-acquired Brandon McDonald, who should provide strength and another strong organizing voice centrally. D.C. will also undergo a change at left back due to the back spasms that have affected Daniel Woolard this week and will end his consecutive start streak at eight matches.
[UPDATE: After a pregame fitness test on the RFK Stadium field, Woolard said he was good to go. He was listed in the lineups distributed to the media, but apparently, both he and Korb were warming up with the starters. D.C. had a 6:45 deadline (15 mins before kickoff) to make a final decision.]
The full D.C. United starting XI: Hamid, Kitchen, White, McDonald, Korb or Woolard, Najar, Simms, De Rosario, Pontius, Davies, Wolff.
The list of players and such from the D.C. area who are Union “members”: midfielders Brian Carroll (West Springfield High) and Justin Mapp, defender Danny Califf (Maryland), midfielder Levi Houapeu (Watkins Mill High/UMBC), rookie goalkeeper Zac MacMath (Maryland), goalkeeper coach Rob Vartughian (Maryland), youth technical director Alecko Eskandarian and team coordinator Josh Gros.
*D.C. United also added a new assistant coach on Friday, Dutchman Sonny Silooy, who has extensive experience with Ajax and last year coached the Dayton Dutch Lions of the USL Premier Development League. From the team’s release: “Silooy will assist Ben Olsen’s first team staff with scouting and video analysis. Using his vast experience in the game, Silooy will also work closely with all of United’s teams in the area of player development, including the U-23 team and Youth Academy sides.” We’ll have to see if that means he’s on the bench tonight.
