D.C. United did something they hadn’t done for a while on Saturday night.
They won a game in MLS.
This statement may be hugely premature given D.C. United’s status as bottom feeders in the Eastern conference, however, will their 1-0 victory against the San Jose Earthquakes prove to be the turning point in their season?
United were on a franchise-worst 13-game winless streak prior to the Earthquakes rolling into town. Ben Olsen’s men hadn’t won since defeating Real Salt Lake 1-0 back in March. That was 105 days ago and they’ve been desperately searching for three points ever since.
D.C. must have been wondering when it would arrive. But now that it has, can Dwayne De Rosario and Chris Pontius drag this club up from the depths and push for the playoffs?
Woooh, hold your horses there. It is too soon for talk like that.
Simply put, D.C. have been on a horror run. They have nine points from 16 MLS games and the teams in the playoff spots have 22 points. That is a lot of ground to make up. In 2013, defensive mistakes, key decisions going against them, injuries, red cards, calamitous own goals… you name it, it has all been going against the capital club.
But they can still garner some respectability from this season. Maybe not make the playoffs, but the standings are tight. So if this win does spark a four or five game unbeaten streak, all of a sudden United’s prospects could be looking a lot rosier.
Of course that is easier said than done. But following their narrow win against San Jose, a feeling of relieve around RFK was evident as Olsen spoke in his post-match press conference.
We’ve all been tested and we’ll continue to be tested the rest of this year and for the next busy two weeks. It’s been brutal. It’s been brutal for the staff, the players. It’s been brutal for the organization. It’s been brutal for our fans. But what I’m most proud of is that we kept things moving forward.
Going forward, D.C. United now have a run of four games in 11 days, starting with an Open Cup quarterfinal against the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
Then they host Vancouver before tough trips to Seattle and Colorado. The next two weeks could define D.C.’s season.