D.C. United are aiming for their first-ever victory in Houston as they travel to the Bayou City to take on the in-form Dynamo in a high-stakes conclusion to SuperLiga group play on Wednesday night.
Both MLS sides know that a win is the only way to assure themselves of a spot in the tournament semifinals, with Monarcas Morelia poised to take a top position should they defeat their winless Mexican Primera Division counterparts Club America at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. in a match that begins immediately following the final whistle in Houston. Even a draw could prove disastrous: Group B's finely-balanced goal differential means that should Morelia win, the standings could well boil down to a tortuous array of tiebreakers.
"No, you never worry about it. I think we just worry about ourselves," said United head coach Tom Soehn of the many possible permutations. "There's too many scenarios that wouldn't work in our favor, so we have to take care of business and look for another win, as I'm sure they [will]."
To save their worries and take three points, United will have to buck recent history in this well-balanced matchup of perennial contenders. Dating back to the latter years of Dynamo's existence in San Jose, the home side has usually held serve and United has to go back to 1999 - when they nabbed a shootout win against the team then known as the Clash - to find their last road win against the club.
United handled the reigning MLS Cup champions well in a 2-1 league win at RFK Stadium in May, only to produce a pale performance in the return match at Robertson Stadium three weeks ago. But key starters Bobby Boswell and Ben Olsen had to catch a red-eye flight to meet the team in Texas on the heels of Copa America duty just to take part in that 1-0 loss, and Olsen believes that things will be different this time around.
"I don't think that was D.C. United, really," said the midfield veteran. "We were down on our luck a little bit. Myself in particular, I wasn't there, fully. Just getting back from Venezuela, both mentally and physically I was kind of a disappointment. I think we're going to have a lot more intensity, a lot more punch going in there. And we know how important this is, both for the league and for this organization, to continue in these type of tournaments."
Jaime Moreno was a major missing link on that muggy Sunday evening, recuperating from his own Copa America exertions with the Bolivian national team. He's missed United's last three matches with a hamstring strain but will suit up against Houston - though unlikely to start, his presence stands to inspire his teammates and offer the sort of attacking guile that might be needed to break down one of the stingiest defenses in MLS history.
"Good," said Soehn when asked about his captain's status on Tuesday. "He's coming along pretty well."
Houston recently rolled up a league-record, 726-minute shutout streak and notwithstanding a U.S. Open Cup hiccup against the Charleston Battery, have not lost since leaving RFK empty-handed on Memorial Day weekend.
"They're on a roll, they haven't lost in some time," said Olsen. "This is going to be a great chance for us to go against the best team in MLS right now. ... They don't give you many opportunities, so when we do get them we have to do well with them."
Yet Soehn took a mischievous slant on the Dynamo's form, referring only to the respective teams' most recent performances.
"Actually we're hotter than they are right now -- we won and they tied," deadpanned the D.C. boss.
But he and his players know that the Orange back line rarely breaks down, leaving little leeway for another display of wasteful finishing from the United strike force.
"I think we always play well against them [and] they play well against us, so it's always going to be an entertaining game," said Soehn after Wednesday's win over Club America, when several glaring misses forced D.C. to sweat out the 1-0 result. "If we do what we did tonight, we might not come out winners -- we have to finish our chances."
Charles Bohem is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
