After two consecutive draws in which their attack has been uncharacteristically understated, D.C. United are anxious to hone their form before the playoffs as they play host to the Columbus Crew on Saturday evening.
"I think it's still important to keep our guys sharp and focused for the playoffs," said coach Tom Soehn. "We can't afford to sit back now and let one slip away mentally. I think it's important that we continue to work on the things that we've done all year. We might manage the minutes more for guys, but our goal is the same: we still want to make sure we perform up to our abilities in every game."
The Black-and-Red have already secured the Supporters' Shield and top seed in the Eastern Conference going into their match with the Crew, who themselves have little to play for after falling out of postseason contention a week ago. But D.C. would prefer to maintain their 13-game unbeaten streak on the eve of the playoffs, while also working their strike force back up to speed with the return of Jaime Moreno from international duty.
"It's important," said goalkeeper Troy Perkins, "because he's that father figure for us up top, to know when to settle the guys in the midfield down with the ball, when to hold it, and when to attack and when not to attack. So he's a key factor for us."
Moreno started for the Bolivian national team in their 5-0 loss to Uruguay on Saturday, but did not play in their scoreless draw with Colombia on Wednesday. The United captain traveled back to Washington on Thursday.
"Who wouldn't want the guy who leads the league in scoring back?" said Soehn. "We want to be at our best when the time comes, and he's part of that. He's a big part of that, he's our captain. So we're excited to have him back and we'll see where he's at when he gets back."
Veterans like Moreno are unlikely to see a full 90 minutes of action, though, given the need to sharpen the preparedness of reserve players who may be called upon in the intense, high-stakes atmosphere that awaits United.
"I definitely see some players getting some minutes that haven't recently," said defender Bryan Namoff of the Columbus match, "because it's going to be important for us to have a deep bench coming into playoff time."
United can look back on two consecutive years of playoff disappointment as reminder of the dangers of complacency at this point in the season. The team sputtered its way to a loss and a draw in their last two matches of 2005 before flaming out against Chicago (4-0 on aggregate) in the first round of the playoffs, then last season coasted into the postseason on a three-game losing streak that hampered their playoff run.
"It's still very important to get some momentum and feel good about yourself," said Perkins. "Especially for our forwards and our defenders, to get nice and confident and comfortable with each other, and to get a little bit more experience. That's all we need."
United's first-round opponent has yet to be decided, thanks to a wild scenario that will likely not fully unfold until the conclusion of Sunday afternoon's Fire-Galaxy match. But the squad handles that issue with the same attitude they've displayed all season, preferring to focus on their own performance.
"You can't sit there and say, 'oh, I don't want to play them,' because then you're worrying about them, not yourself," said Perkins, when asked about preferred postseason matchups. "So we want to make everyone else worry about us. We'll watch our game film of everyone else, learn what we learn, and go in with the mindset that they've got to beat us."
Namoff boiled the matter down to an even simpler outlook.
"Doesn't matter," he said with a grin. "Doesn't matter who we play -- we're going to come after them."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
