The first few days of D.C. United’s trip down to Charleston, S.C., have gotten off to a bright start.
After arriving last Thursday, the team spent the first couple of days enjoying the warm southern weather before opening up the Carolina Challenge Cup with a 2-1 win over defending USL champs and hosts Charleston Battery.
“The first few days have gone well,” midfielder Dax McCarty told MLSsoccer.com by phone. “Obviously, the first few days are to get the travel out of the legs, and just prepare for that first game.”
United’s final stretch of the preseason in Charleston is an important one, as the rebuilt roster continues to gel both on and off the field. Nine of the 17 players who saw the field in Saturday’s win weren’t on the team last year.
Building and constructing a cohesive unit in a short amount of time is a difficult challenge, and it’s also one that both coaches and players are aware of and working hard to quickly overcome.
[inline_node:330035]“There are a lot of new players, a lot of new faces in this team,” McCarty said. “The key is trying to get on the same page as fast as possible. Once the team comes together, it’ll be a great thing to see because we’ll be a very dangerous team.”
There was plenty of evidence of what DC might be capable of Saturday night. McCarty, who donned the captain’s armband, covered a tremendous amount of ground from the center of the park and provided a sublime assist on Chris Pontius’ opening goal.
WATCH: Full match: D.C. United 2, Charleston 1
Rookie Perry Kitchen looked good starting in the back line next to fellow newcomer Daniel Woolard, who started at left back. Josh Wolff and Joseph Ngwenya offered a new look up front and combined nicely on the game-winning goal.
“All-in-all it was a pretty good performance," said Wolff of Saturday's win. "But, certainly, [there were] areas we need to get better in."
McCarty echoed those sentiments.
“I thought we created some good chances,” he said. “We scored two goals from open play, which is always nice to see. We were dangerous from set pieces and I thought we defended very well.”
For a team that struggled on both ends of the field in 2010, the rebuilding process is still ongoing. The chance to keep progressing will come Wednesday, when United play fellow MLS side Chicago Fire in Game 2 of the Carolina Challenge.
Molding the team is a task that will carry into the regular season, but having veterans like McCarty and Wolff to keep the team focused and guide the younger players through some of the growing pains will be especially valuable.
“Things are certainly starting to take shape, but I suspect there are going to be bumps along the way and you've got to be ready to accept them and grow from them,“ Wolff said. “The mind set is you have to get better each and every day, and I think we’ve continued to do that.”
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