Immediately after a 1-0 loss to Houston Dynamo in SuperLiga play at Roberston Stadium on Wednesday night, D.C. United players and coaches were uncertain about their future in the tournament.
"We'll pray for Club America," said D.C. United coach Tom Soehn. If America defeated Monarcas Morelia in the second game of the night at Toyota Park, or if the teams played to a draw, D.C. would become the third MLS team to qualify for the semifinals. If Morelia were to win, D.C. would be out of the tournament.
Soehn said that his team's busy schedule of late was reflected on the field with sluggish play in the first half.
"In the first half, I don't think either team came out very well," Soehn said. "It was kind of a sluggish game. In the second half, I thought we actually came out with more life."
United goalkeeper Troy Perkins agreed that both teams were not clicking on all cylinders.
"I thought we did pretty well. It was our third game in seven games, same for them, so it's going to be sloppy. It's not going to be clean like it was four days ago," Perkins said. "It's just something that we've got to deal with. I thought we did well, and they played pretty well. We just made one mistake, and at that level, that's going to cost you."
That one mistake was allowing Houston forward Brian Ching to get on the receiving end of a flick-on header by fellow attacker Nate Jaqua a step ahead of the defense. Ching's goal was the only score of the match, and sent Houston to an August 15 home matchup with Pachuca in the Superliga semifinals.
"I got caught a little between, playing a little flick off of Jaqua and trying to get set wherever I was," Perkins said of the play. "I wasn't in a good spot. We were all in a bad position, there."
Soehn said that his defense was caught out of position on the play, making the one mistake that allowed Houston to come away with the win.
"Unfortunately, we got caught flat," Soehn said. "You don't want to give a guy like Ching an opportunity, because he'll bury it. We pushed the game to them, had plenty of chances, and didn't finish it off."
Of his defense's play in general, Soehn said that "they did a pretty job, but all it takes is one mistake. It was disappointing, because I thought we came out and raised the bar in the second half, and it was unfortunate to give up the goal."
D.C. also made one pivotal mistake in the attacking end, when United defender Bobby Boswell slipped on a patch of dirt when preparing to receive the ball directly in front of an open net for what would have been a sure goal.
"We just missed one goal on an open net," United forward Jaime Moreno said. "Unfortunately, the bounce wasn't the right one, but that's our luck."
"We created chances, we've just got to put them away, especially against Houston," Soehn said. "We didn't give them much as far as chances, and they didn't give us much. It's going to be a tight game like it's been in our series at all times. The few that you do create, you've got to score."
Moreno said that his team knew that Houston would be tough, and that they will be able to improve after Wednesday's lackluster performance.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game," Moreno said. "We make one mistake, and they score. That's how it's been so far. It's been a roller-coaster for us, and we're trying to figure out how to shut it out. Hopefully in the next couple of games, we do [figure it out] so we don't make the same mistakes."
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
