An unusual gap of almost three weeks between matches has given D.C. United an opportunity to recover and recuperate in the middle of the seemingly endless MLS season, which starts in mid-March and concludes with the MLS Cup in November. But the rest has been an uneasy one for a team on the cusp of becoming a playoff contender all year but still hasn’t proved it deserves its first postseason berth since 2007.
“The spot we’re in is about where we thought we’d be,” United coach Ben Olsen said.
The final seven weeks will be a whirlwind for United (7-7-10), which begins with a trip out West to visit Chivas USA (7-10-10) on Saturday, followed by a week on the Pacific coast in preparation for facing Seattle (13-5-9) in front of 35,000 rowdy fans at CenturyLink Field.
Once United returns to Washington, it will play three games in nine days to close out September before it begins an even more crowded October. D.C. United’s home game against Portland, postponed because of Hurricane Irene, has been crammed into the last week of the regular season, forcing United to finish with four games in the season’s final 11 days.
At the current rate, nearly every game could make or break the chase for the playoffs.
United has played two fewer games than all but one MLS team, but D.C. United’s only two victories in the last two months have been against the two teams at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Still, defender Brandon McDonald remains positive: “It’s in our favor.”
– Craig Stouffer
