but the mere location of their Estadio Miguel Hidalgo home will present a substantial obstacle for the visitors as well. The 33,000-capacity stadium has become known around Mexico for the zeal of the local fans, but their passion only bolsters the built-in benefits of the city's topography.
Pachuca sits amid some of the nation's highest mountains, at an altitude that surpasses the 'Mile High City' of Denver by some 2,500 feet. The rarefied air provides the local club with a breathtaking homefield advantage, as the Houston Dynamo can confirm.
The back-to-back MLS Cup champs took on Pachuca at this stage of last year's Champions' Cup and after a 2-0 first-leg victory in Texas, were run ragged in a breakneck second-leg match that stood 4-2 after 90 minutes. Tied on aggregate, the teams entered 30 minutes of extra time wherein Christian Gimenez blasted home the series winner for the Mexican side, to the delight of a frenzied home crowd that had been bolstered by free admission on the evening.
United netminder Zach Wells was in goal for the Orange that night, and can attest to the fact that the Argentinean playmaker is just one of several attacking weapons the D.C. defense will have to watch closely. For a revamped defense that is still working out shape and communication issues -- as the Wizards strike force revealed at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday -- it's easily the biggest test of the season so far.
"We're all learning to play with each other and it's going to take a little bit of time," said Wells, whose interaction with center backs Gonzalo Martinez and Gonzalo Peralta will be pivotal. "We're just got to stay organized defensively, make sure that teams are earning their goals."
The performance of D.C. holding midfielder Clyde Simms will also have a critical influence on the back four's prospects. A tireless work rate will be required to close down Gimenez's time on the ball and track runners coming out of the Pachuca midfield, and Soehn might even consider pairing rookie Dan Stratford with Simms to spread the burden.
Either way, the Black-and-Red seem content to keep their attacking ambitions in check until the second leg at their RFK Stadium home.
"Maybe a little bit, with the altitude and having the game on Saturday," said Simms last week, when asked if he expected his side to sit back against Pachuca. "We've always had the second leg away in these tournaments the last couple of years, and I think it'll benefit us to have the second leg here this year. I feel like it takes at least a half to get a feel for the other team when you play in these types of tournaments, and so that first game we'll get a feel for them but at the same time they'll be trying to get a feel for us."
Tuesday night's match is just the sort of high-pressure occasion that has bedeviled United in recent years. Having signed players like Martinez, Peralta and playmaker Marcelo Gallardo with such situations in mind, the club will be eager to prove it can advance to the next level against top-quality opposition like Pachuca.
"A lot of it comes down to tournament play," said United general manager Dave Kasper. "It's definitely going to be a focus of ours with our group, our entire group, to show up for the big games ... we want to compete for championships in every competition."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
