D.C. United make two long road trips to face strong teams in sweltering locales this week, but spirits are high around the club as its young lineup looks to continue rolling up points despite several injuries and international absences.
With Wednesday afternoon's game in Kansas City closely followed by a Sunday visit to steamy Houston, the reserves that helped secure last week's result against Colorado will need to continue their progress if United are to clamber to the top of the Eastern Conference standings for the first time this season.
"We said all season we've got a deep team," said second-year winger Justin Moose. "We're going into Wednesday with a chance to be on top of the leaderboard. ... We were fortunate that New England and New York lost this weekend. We've got to get up there and stay up there."
Moose is one of several youngsters being called upon while United stars Bobby Boswell, Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen take part in Copa America and Bryan Namoff and Guy Roland-Kpene recover from hamstring strains. D.C. coach Tom Soehn saw increasing cohesion and confidence in the group that knocked four unanswered goals past the Rapids in Thursday's comeback win, but he remains eager for more ambition at the attacking end.
"I thought as the game wore on, you could see it," he said of his team's progress. "I told guys like Justin that I still don't think he was offensive enough for me. I've watched him take guys on all week long, every week in training, and then he got to the game and he was afraid to do it. That's where they need to take their chances, especially in the offensive third. Be more aggressive and play more positive. But that will come with experience."
A scheduling conflict with baseball's Kansas City Royals has done United and the Wizards no favors, necessitating a noon kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium. Soehn pushed Monday's training session almost two hours to give his players a taste of the midday heat, and he expects conditions to dictate his team's tactics as well.
"You've got to be smarter in a 12 noon game with the heat," he said. "You've got to manage the game a little better and make sure it's on your terms. You can't go out and pressure for 90 minutes: that's going to be impossible. So we'll adjust all that and have a game plan. Whether we execute or not, we'll see."
Meanwhile, United have made several roster moves to hone the side's personnel with an eye towards the stretch run that will unfold in the coming months. United cut Kasali Yinka Casal when the promising English winger declined to accept a move to developmental status, and his senior roster spot could be used for an international signing in the coming weeks. A young central defender from Brazilian partner club Atletico Mineiro is expected to arrive on trial next week.
Many players were stunned by the trade that sent Argentinean defender Facundo Erpen to Colorado in exchange for 33-year-old veteran Greg Vanney, who will join the club in Kansas City and likely step right into Erpen's center back spot.
"I was a little shocked, but that's the business," said goalkeeper Troy Perkins. "I really don't know yet if it's a good move or a bad move. Obviously it adds a lot of experience to our back line and a lot of veteran leadership in Vanney, and that's going to help us out ... he shouldn't struggle too much fitting in. Playing four in the back is pretty easy to understand and [requires] just a lot more communication between me and him, so we'll sort that out."
The deal has underscored the club's desire to contend this year and make sure MLS Cup 2007 at RFK Stadium is a home game for the Black-and-Red.
"The owners and front office staff want nothing else but to be here," said Perkins of that prospect. "Obviously playing in our home stadium, we could be looking at a sellout crowd for that and you get 50-60,000 people chanting for you, it's a different environment. I know [club president] Kevin Payne really wants to put a statement on this league - he wants to do this."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
