Good teams do not just play better, they create their own luck. DC United might not yet be a good team, but they have finally started to make a little of their own luck. People say that, over the course of a season, calls have a tendency to work themselves out; if this is true, United’s goal this past weekend gave them about half of the New England debacle back. Now, this is not necessarily a good reflection on the state of MLS officiating, but hey, I’ll take it.
Now, since this is rather late, I’m not going to get into a game summary; I just have some random thoughts to put out there. (This weekend I was out of town on a retreat that I had to go to before getting married, so that’s why this is late)
- While I miss Jed Zayner (and his nice pass that sprung Josh Wolff in the first game), Chris Korb has been surprisingly solid. He has been like the middle class man’s version of Jordan Graye; less pure athleticism, but a better on the ball defender. Seeing as Zayner still has not recovered from his hamstring issue, we will probably seeing much more of Chris Korb.
- Ethan White has definitely jumped over Daniel Woolard and Rodrigo Brasesco on the depth chart for central defense. If Dejan Jakovic keeps having Dejan Jakovic moments, White could be pushing for a starting roll by the end of the year; if Jakovic keeps playing like he did on Saturday, then he will keep that job.
- I am not too worried by Ben Olsen pulling Dax McCarty for Branko Boskovic; Boskovic has to be the most frustrating player on the team this year. His potential is there in spades, but he cannot put it together in real MLS games. Dax does need to step it up, but I think that he can do it.
- The Davies-Wolff combo will be coming to a Toronto near you this weekend. I like the work that Blake Brettschneider has been putting in, but he still needs time in the reserve league to develop his goal scoring touch. As of now, though, he gives United what Adam Cristman gave last year with the possibility of improving; Cristman had maxed out his potential.
I’ll be back on the blogging horse tomorrow, but those are my thoughts about this past weekend. Also, hurray for the Open Cup win! Although the road is tougher this year, I wouldn’t mind United making a concerted effort in that competition.
Before Extra Time 
3 responses to “Sneaking out a point”
Glad you’re still alive. When’s the shaadi?
I’m worried that I ought to be more worried that it looks like one of our best back lines may include Korb (rookie), Kitchen (rookie), White (homegrown rookie), and Hamid (second-year almost-rookie). I mean, on the one hand, there’s some seriously solid ability locked up in there. On the other hand, an experienced head is valuable, especially on the back line. And I’m not sure Burch counts.
We’re getting married August 20th!
No, Burch doesn’t count. Nor does Jakovic. But neither did Julius James, and Juan Manual Pena couldn’t stay on the field enough to provide that leadership. I think Clyde Simms can show some leadership with his defensive play, and Pat Onstad will be there too, but I think the kids will all just learn together. They’ll make mistakes, but I think most (sane) fans expect this to be a year for the new style to start gelling; if they happen to do well in the process, that is an added bonus.
Ha! I think you overestimate the sanity of most fans.
Congrats, btw. I think I knew from somewhere that you’d gotten engaged (Facebook?), but I don’t think I ever said anything. Hope planning’s going well.