Apologies for not sending out notice that I had escaped last weekend for Memorial Day, but in any case, I’m back. Of course, D.C. United isn’t, having spent the week on the West Coast following last week’s surprising 3-2 win at Portland.
The victory put United (4-4-3, 15 points) back in the thick of things in MLS, now tied with Houston for third in the Eastern Conference. But a look at the West and tonight’s opponent, the Los Angeles Galaxy (8-2-5, 29 points), reveals just how much of a gap Bruce Arena’s squad has created between themselves and the rest of the league approaching the midway point of the regular season.
The Galaxy have won four in a row overall and remain undefeated at home (4-0-2), not that the latter mark is one that will intimidate D.C., which became the first team to win at refurbished Jeld-Wen Field in Portland on Sunday.
Tonight’s clash (11 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer) is a rematch of the 1-1 draw between the sides at RFK Stadium on Apr. 9. Mike Magee scored L.A.’s goal off a David Beckham corner, and Charlie Davies embellished contact in the box to draw and convert a penalty kick equalizer in that match. United hasn’t won in league play at Home Depot Center since 2005, a stretch that includes three ties and two defeats.
Things to keep in mind:
*Injuries and absences will play a significant role. Landon Donovan is with the U.S. national team squad that will face Spain tomorrow in Foxborough and then begin CONCACAF Gold Cup play on Tuesday against Canada in Detroit. The Galaxy’s other major absences are goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who is with the Jamaican national team, and center back Leonardo, who is out for the year with a knee injury.
D.C. is without plenty of guys – already missing defender Dejan Jakovic suffered a hamstring injury with the Canadian team earlier this week – and a notable few didn’t even travel to the West Coast, such as Santino Quaranta (concussion), but Davies (hamstring) and Dax McCarty (groin) have both been upgraded to probable.
*McCarty’s return could come at the expense of Stephen King in the midfield, but even more important, it could have an effect on set pieces, an area where McCarty has struggled to deliver dangerous balls. Andy Najar filled in at that role against the Timbers, and proved he should do so more often.
*With Davies back and Josh Wolff having already recovered from a groin strain himself, D.C. head coach Ben Olsen could have a dilemma on his hands with how to use rookie Blake Brettschneider, who had a pair of assists against the Timbers. Brettschneider’s second pro start came in the first Galaxy match – a game in which he was a bit of a deer in the headlights. His first minutes since came in Portland.
*In today’s print edition, I wrote about D.C. center back Ethan White, who is the latest of many, many former Maryland defenders that have excelled in American soccer. Terrapins head coach Sasho Cirovski said White could be the best athlete of any of them.
*D.C. United will wear its red uniform for the first time tonight. The team is donating $5 from each jersey sold from dcuteamstore.com to Red Card Cancer, a fundraising initiative for cancer research in partnership with Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
*Back in D.C., a couple of events are happening at Montgomery Blair High in Silver Spring this weekend: an open tryout for players age 16-20 in front of scouts from Mexican club Cruz Azul on Saturday and a youth clinic with former United forward Raul Diaz Arce on Sunday. More info is available here.
