It always takes a little more time to get totally familiar with D.C. United players when they’re wrapped in jackets and ski caps like they were at Long Bridge Park in Arlington today – even if it wasn’t as cold as when the team officially opened camp last month – but once identified, they’re hard to miss.
Certainly there was no mistaking the white shoes of new forward Hamdi Salihi nor the height of Emiliano Dudar.
And, after mostly just reports from camps in Florida and Arizona, United coach Ben Olsen also treated those in attendance to a full-field scrimmage, solidifying the depth chart in many respects with a little less than three weeks remaining before the March 10 season opener.
The first team starters today:
G- Joe Willis
LB- Daniel Woolard; CB- Emiliano Dudar, Dejan Jakovic; RB- Robbie Russell
LW- Chris Pontius, CM- Marcelo Saragosa, Stephen King; LW- Andy Najar
FW- Salihi, Maicon Santos
Second team:
G- Andrew Dykstra
LB- Guilherme; CB- Jose Burciaga, Ethan White; RB- Chris Korb
LW- Nick DeLeon; CM- Conor Shanosky, Lance Rozeboom; RW- Danny Cruz
FW- Josh Wolff, Alfred Martins
There wasn’t a whole lot to be gained tactically from the scrimmage, but the Olsen did have the first group doing pushups, and Dudar’s passing touch was lacking.
Of course, keep in mind that Bill Hamid and Perry Kitchen are both with the U.S. under-23s, while Brandon McDonald (quad), Dwayne De Rosario (groin) and Branko Boskovic (calf) were all working off nagging injuries on the side of the field. Seth C’deBaca and Ryan Richter didn’t play in the scrimmage but did the rest of the drills in practice while Kurt Morsink, coming off surgery, is out. A couple of cuts are expected before the team departs for Charleston.
De Rosario projected himself back by the end of the week. Boskovic said he had an MRI in Arizona, but it didn’t reveal anything serious and that he should back on the field after a couple days. As to his availability in South Carolina for three games starting this weekend, he said: “I don’t know. We will see. I want to come back as soon as possible, but we will see.”
Pontius said he’s not worried about his leg at all anymore.
“I turned the corner down in Florida where I started feeling good, and then down in Phoenix, I was pretty much full out,” Pontius said. “They kept me back for a couple days, but then I started feeling really good and even got some time in that last game which I didn’t think I would get. It was a good boost to get the 30 minutes I did in that game and see some live action.”
D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper said the team does not have any interested in recently waived New York Red Bulls homegrown players Matt Kassel (Maryland) and Sacir Hot.
