Here’s what we got from D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn following today’s training session:
On the short break between Wednesday’s match in Kansas City and Saturday’s visit by Toronto: “It’s turned around quick. These days are tough, not only for them but for us, as far as you like to go over things you’d like to correct from the last game, and we’re actually today having to focus on who we’re playing. You run short of days.”
On Toronto, what he’s seen since coach Chris Cummins took over for departed John Carver: “They’re playing a 4-3-3, pretty offensive. Obviously, the benefit of that is putting their offensive-minded guys in good spots. The other side of it is, it puts them in offensive spots, and we now can counter on them. He might change his formation on the road. He’s only played that formation in home games… I think it’s important that we do a good job in possession and turn them into defenders.”
On Ben Olsen’s status (questionable with a hamstring is the legal status): “You never really know until game day.”
On the lineup adjustments, player rotation: “We’re not at that point of the season where you’re looking for consistency for lineups. This is an important time to get through hard stretches and make sure that everybody has a piece in it so that one, your energy stays high, and the competitiveness stays high. We’re trying to manage that, and sometimes it takes away from the beauty of our game because you are changing pieces. But keeping everybody part of it is probably the most important, knowing that we have a deep team and it doesn’t drop off from guy to guy. You get different qualities from each guy.”
I also talked to Andrew Jacobson, who displayed a swollen, purple ankle that will keep him out of Saturday. I was interested in learning about his ball-striking ability, since he’s show shades of Alecko Eskandarian with some ridiculously powerful right-footed strikes from distance. He’s not yet angling to take over all free kicks for United but expect him to get in there when there’s a chance from 35-40 yards.
Jacobson attributes his ability to what happened after he blew out his left ACL during his freshman season at Cal Berkeley.
“When I was coming back from my knee injury in college, the goalie coach [Henry Foulk] had me work with him, when I was able to shoot but not train. I would just work with him and the goalies, and take hundreds of shots a day. He taught me a lot of the technique to it, and it really stuck.”
When he returns to the field, Jacobson is due to score a screamer for D.C. United, to be sure. He said he prefers slightly wet conditions — “It’s a little bit easier. The ball jumps off your foot a little bit more,” — and shoes certainly make a difference. No complaints about his current set from Nike.
Also, it may sound cliché, but for Jacobson, “It’s not really how hard you hit it. It’s where you hit it on the ball.”
And so endeth the lesson.
