My story in today’s print edition on D.C. United defender Daniel Woolard is here. A couple other tidbits from training on Thursday, when the team took to the newly-installed grass at RFK Stadium for the first time:
*Defender Dejan Jakovic put the blame on fatigue when it came to the circumstances that led to him suffering a left hamstring strain in a friendly against Ecuador, costing him a chance to represent Canada in the Gold Cup.
“I was very excited, looking forward to the tournament,” Jakovic said. “I don’t know what it was, definitely fatigue. I flew back [from Portland] all of Monday, a five-hour flight back to Toronto, trained Tuesday, felt okay. The legs were a little heavy, and I wasn’t really expecting to play Wednesday. It happens. It’s part of the game. The worst timing possible, and there’s not much I can do right now, just get treatment every day and see how it progresses.”
*Midfielder Dax McCarty, who captained a U.S. national team side this past winter, didn’t have any contact with U.S. head coach Bob Bradley leading up to the Gold Cup.
“I knew he was in the house for the Colorado game,” McCarty said. “I’m sure most of the hoopla was for him to watch Charlie [Davies], obviously. Bob does his due diligence. He watches every game. I know he’s a big soccer nut. I’m sure he’s kept track of all the guys in the pool throughout the year, but I think it’s more of a thing that if you’re going to be called in, he might communicate with you. If you’re not, keep playing hard, and he’ll watch your games, and you hope to play well enough to get the call the next time.”
McCarty also gave good insight on where D.C. United is as a team heading into Saturday’s game against San Jose.
On Woolard: “He’s been fantastic since he’s gotten into the lineup. You know what you’re going to get from him. He’s extremely solid defensively. He’s a big guy, pretty clean with the ball. For me, the thing that sticks out is his consistency. He doesn’t waver. He doesn’t go up and down, really doesn’t make many mistakes. To add a guy like that to the back line for an injury situation, for him to come in and do as well as he’s done, it’s definitely refreshing and shows our depth.”
On what he saw from D.C. during its recent two-game swing on the West coast: “From a personal standpoint, just disappointing because you want to play. I want to play. I want to get better, and I want to improve because I don’t think I’ve been my best this season, but with that said, guys have picked up the slack, come in a played consistently well for guys that have been injured.”
On coming home with four points: “I think that has a lot to do with our coach [Ben Olsen]. It’s a reflection of him and his mentality, and those two games out west, they aren’t games where you’re going to try and play pretty. Portland is a dogfight, a scrap, and I think that’s why we won that, and L.A., that’s one of the best teams in the league so they’re going to have a little bit more of the run of play at home. You just have to go in and battle them physically because if you do that, you’re going to create chances. To be fair, I thought if we’re being candid about it, we should’ve walked out of that road trip with six points.”
What needs to happen for D.C. to take the next step, from being competitive to winning regularly: “It’s all about being consistent in the final third. I think we’re starting to prove that defensively, we’re a team that can hang. We’re a team that has young players but players that know how to play this game really well, and it’s just a matter of getting on the same page. Attacking wise, the chances are there. There’s no doubt. For me, it’s just a matter of guys having composure and saying alright, I’m going to pass the ball into the back of the net when they give me the opportunity. It’s about consistency.”
