Comprehensive coverage of Washington, D.C. sports by local writers
Ten Major League Soccer teams played last night, one didn’t score a goal. If you have been following D.C. United during this 2013 MLS season, you can guess which team it was.
United fell to 2-13-3 (9 points) on the season with a 2-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, before a spirited crowd of 39,180. The Sounders are 7-2-2 after starting the season 0-3-2, and improved to 7-5-4 (25 points) overall. [Read more…]
That’s where D.C. United’s journey through the 2013 Major League Soccer season has taken us – through eight matches, it’s time to start writing (very amateur) poetry.
With Saturday night’s 3-0 loss at the Columbus Crew, United fell to 1-6-1 (4 points) on the season, worst in the 19-team league that is MLS. United hasn’t won since the second game of the season, a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake that now seems decades ago. D.C. has gone 0-5-1 since, scoring just three times. Perhaps more alarming were the three goals given up in the first half on Saturday (one came from the penalty spot), an indication of just how bad things can be if the offense, already struggling, is joined by a defense that isn’t getting the job done, either. [Read more…]
One play turned what would have been a scoreless draw into a 1-0 loss for D.C. United at Sporting Kansas City Friday night. A goal was scored by SKC’s Claudio Bieler, set up by Soony Saad, started with a bad United turnover deep on its own side of the field. In many games, such an error would be just one part of the total picture. But given how United has played in its three away matches this season, such a play becomes the flash point to decide the contest, because United’s defense and goalkeeper Bill Hamid simply must be perfect for United to have any hope of obtaining even a single point – never mind winning and getting three.
Consider these numbers from United’s first three away matches – at Houston, New York, and Kansas City: [Read more…]