D.C. United have won four MLS Cup championships over the 11 years of Major League Soccer's existence, but one thing missing from all those annals of postseason glory is a victory -- or even a goal -- against the Chicago Fire.
It's become an irritating but inescapable statistic for players and fans alike. The Men in Red have ended United's Cup dreams on three occasions and despite the 15 points that separated these two teams at the end of the season, the Fire are quite confident as they prepare to host D.C. in the first leg of their two-game Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Thursday. Goalkeeper Matt Pickens even went so far as to say that "I think they fear us."
But United head coach Tom Soehn -- who played for the Fire in their 1998 MLS Cup upset of the Black-and-Red and watched their 2005 triumph as a United assistant coach under Peter Nowak -- is having none of it.
"That's in the past," said Soehn abruptly when asked about the topic of Chicago's 4-0 aggregate demolition of D.C. two years ago. "We are two different coaches, two different teams. They haven't beat us yet this year. There is no thought on anybody's mind in that regard. That is something you guys [in the media] talk about more than anybody. That's not a focus of ours."
The first-year Soehn's businesslike approach has kept United on an even keel throughout their strenuous campaign, and Soehn believes his team has the "short memories" required to shake off their history with the Fire, their heart-rending disappointments in three international tournaments this year and their season-ending winless skid.
"We've shored up some things almost a little bit too early and performances tend to wane," he said of United's middling displays over the past three weeks. "We have something to play for again and I can see the excitement in the guys and the urgency and it's nice to have that back."
Several veterans clearly remember the anguish of Chicago's 4-0 humiliation of United at RFK Stadium in 2005, though. D.C. nicked a scoreless draw in the first leg of that series at Soldier Field, only to be overwhelmed on their home field in shocking fashion.
"I think that time when it happened, they came more prepared than us," said D.C. captain Jaime Moreno, who is racing to recover from a foot injury sustained against Columbus on Saturday. "They came with the urgency of winning and the hunger. We were missing it that day. But that is in the past and we've got to show a different face this time."
A marathon season which began in the late-winter snow has finally reached its final stages and after splitting their attentions among multiple competitions for much of that time, the squad is ready to throw all its energies into the hunt for a fifth MLS Cup. United can take heart from the fact that with their No. 1 playoff seed and hosting of this year's MLS Cup Final, Thursday night will be their final road trip.
"It's pretty easy to get motivated for this game," said Ben Olsen. "You wait 10 months for this game, and it's here and the motivation is easy. And saying that, it's against Chicago which has given us some tough times in the last couple of years. I certainly haven't forgotten that and some of those guys in the locker room haven't forgotten it either."
The present Fire side has evolved significantly from Dave Sarachan's outfit of 2005. New coach Juan Carlos Osorio and Mexican playmaker Cuauhtemoc Blanco have shaped Chicago into a hungry, attack-oriented unit that has been in playoff mode for weeks now thanks to their early-season struggles. They have battled United to a stalemate in two meetings over the past month.
"Certainly our focus right now is on that last road trip and doing as well as we can against, let's face it, a Chicago team that is playing very well right now," said Olsen. "They know what they are about. They're kind of hitting their peak, so I think it's two teams that are certainly right now the best in the East."
D.C.'s most glaring concern is the health of their first-choice forward line, with Moreno and Golden Boot winner Luciano Emilio looking unlikely to be fully fit in time for Thursday night's clash. While that might lead to a more defensive posture at Toyota Park, United seem anxious to take some goals back to RFK to simplify their task in the second leg -- plus, revenge is certainly on the minds of many.
"We've had a lot of problems with [Chicago]," said goalkeeper Troy Perkins after training on Tuesday. "We got something to prove now. We've got to take these guys and do the same thing they did to us and make sure when we come back here that they don't have a chance."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
