DC United: Seven Early-Season Factors to Watch

Seven ‘what-to-watch’es for the early red and black season.

Everyone loves lists and always default to five or ten, so let’s go with seven. There are seven deadly sins and all seven of these will probably be wrong, so it seems fitting.

Number 1: Coach Ben Olsen Reaches Year 10

DC United has achieved above average success under Olsen’s tenure, reaching the playoffs in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. He became the youngest coach ever to reach 100 career wins and has a good-enough record. The overall results are disappointing, though, for a team that has high expectations for success. Since his 2014 Coach of the Year Award, DC hasn’t finished higher than 4th and continues to lose out early in the playoffs. Recent years were especially rough considering the hype around Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta. Many pre-season rankings have DC in the middle of the pack for 2020, so if the team doesn’t over-perform, Olsen may not get a Year 11.

Number 2: Forget Rooney and Acosta, Meet Flores and Gressel

DC looks to succeed or fail with the abilities of new arrivals Edison Flores and Julian Gressel. United paid a record $5 million transfer fee to gain the duel-threat winger in the 25 year old Flores who’s young, quick, and aggressive. Gressel, only 26 , is a rising star who can play almost anywhere on the field. He comes from a trade with Atlanta earlier in the year and signed a three-year deal (with fourth-year club option). Gressel collected 35 assists in his first 88 starts and stands to become the midfield focal point of DC’s play. The duo looked sharp against Colorado and we can expect good things to come.

Number 3: Ola Kamara to shoot again and again and again

Kamara scored in his very first start with DC last August after transferring from China only to suffer an ACL injury a few games later. He appears healthy and ready to go for 2020. With double-digit goals in each of his previous MLS seasons. He’s an experienced forward who the black and red will rely on to put some aggression into their offense.

Number 4: Adding experience with Federico Higuaín

The 35 year-old Higuain brings over 350 professional games of knowledge with him to the nation’s capital and will use it in his capacity as a duel player-coach for the team. On the field, he’ll help in the midfield, while on the sidelines he’ll work as a Player Development Coach to help mold the team’s young talent into accomplished veterans. He comes to the team after an ACL ended his time with Columbus last year (and likely accelerates his transition to coaching). The offense already lacked unity against Colorado in their opening game, and Higuain’s presence in the locker room and on the field may help alleviate that confusion going forward.

Number 5: Hamid continues to bring stability in the goal

DC legend Bill Hamid returns once again after leading the league in shut-outs last season. Hamid set a club record 14 clean sheets last year and racked up a career-high 127 saves (2nd in MLS). This was a no-brainer, and Hamid’s skill should give United a buffer while the newer players build cohesion and smooth out the edges for the team’s new look. Besides a short stint in Europe, he’s been with the team since signing out of their academy in 2009 and will continue to collect team records in 2020. You can’t hold him back.

Number 6: Veterans add more consistency

Long-time DC defender Steve Birnbaum signed a new 3-year deal this week. Birnbaum has started every game for two years (and played every minute in 2018) and is a stallwart outside the goal. His companion Frédéric Brillant also returns to the red and black with a new two-year contract. Though 34, his continued solid play on defense allows him to get signficant playing time.

Number 7: Expect more transactions to build up the roster

The team is wheeling and dealing as it looks to shore up additional weak-points before the season gets into full-swing. Midfielder Mohammad Abu joins the team from Norway and hasn’t played in the MLS since 2018 but adds defensive help to the team’s middle. The team also added Higuain (see above), and Forward Erik Sorga joined a month ago from Estonia. With Paul Arriola missing the whole season from his pre-season knee injury, only 22 players are on the active roster currently. The team definitely needs to add some depth so look for more player movement in the days to come.

Tensions, Penalties Flare for Caps

We all expected an intense match-up Wednesday when the Flyers came to DC, and we got what we paid for. The Caps were ready to defend their position atop the Metropolitan Division against the 2nd place Flyers (3 points behind), especially with the 3rd place Penguins on their heels (does Pennsylvania have a grudge against DC? Insert swing-state joke here?) The Flyers have won six straight and are one of the hottest teams in the league since New Years. They’ve also had Washington’s number all season (2-0-1), and this was the first of three tough division games (Rangers, Penguins) that will test late-season endurance and discipline over the next week.

Multiple fights (Tom Wilson could star in a pay-per-view special), abundant penalties, and overall aggression characterized this grudge match. DC has 19 wins and zero losses when leading in the first period, and Lars Eller did his best to stack the odds in the Caps’ favor. After a 1-0 early lead in the 1st, though, heart beats spiked over and over in the 2nd as Philly took the momentum.

Philly’s defense honed in to keep Ovechkin scoreless, just as they did through the first 3 meetings of the season. Oshie and Ovechkin nearly scored midway through the period, and Holtby saved a close goal with some quick thinking by scooting forward before the puck could be found. Turns out, it didn’t really matter.

The rest of the 2nd was a disaster for the Caps. Four penalties (and four power plays) killed any chance of a solid DC defense and Philly responded with three goals to gain a 3-2 lead. Philadelphia dominated Washington in shot numbers, but that’s no surprise considering power plays took away DC’s chance to have a concerted offense. One bright point, though, was Brenden Dillon who made his presence known on his new team through some solid hits.

The Capitals failed to take advantage of a penalty early in the 3rd (they were 0-5 scoring during power plays all night), and the Flyers followed with their 4th goal (13 minutes left) and their 5th goal (5 minutes left). Honestly, the relentless Philly offense could have walked away with a couple more goals if not for a few lucky breaks and quick defensive plays. Overall, a disappointing performance by DC. We’re going to need some more discipline and more more mid-game mojo going forward. Get your fingernails ready, because the next few weeks are going to be a ride into the playoffs.

Spark missing in loss to Rutgers

With only two games left in the regular season for the Terrapins, it’s unfortunate to see one wasted against Rutgers. Wasted might be too harsh (Rutgers was the 1.5 point favorite and is desperate to retain a bracket spot) but still, Maryland could have preserved some momentum going into the tournament with wins against Rutgers and Michigan. Sr Anthony Cowan Jr rebounded from his poor performance last weekend with 19 points, and So Jalen Smith supported strongly with a respectable 16. I’m not quite sure anyone else showed up tonight.

This was a duel-whammy in which Md performed exceptionally poorly (38.5% field goals and 19% three-pointers) and Rutgers exceeded expectations (49% field goals and 47% three-pointers). An already under-performing Maryland defense continues to, well, under-perform. Rutger’s won the rebound differential 44-40 and had 3 extra steals from Terrapins. The only difference is that now the offense has joined too. Maryland needed more from Wiggins, Scott, and the bench if they want to show up as a serious contender next week in the Big Ten Tournament.

A decisive win against Michigan on Sunday could be the boost needed to generate some momentum for a tournament which promises suspense and upsets. Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa all have strong cases to be made. Michigan and Ohio State lurk ready to insert chaos. Either way, Maryland’s position atop the Big Ten and the March Madness bracket is shaky.