COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The youth movement is starting to move in the right direction for D.C. United, and it paid dividends in a 1-0 road win against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.
“We found a way to hang there, and in a tough season, find a way to get a result,” D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen said postgame. “There’s a lot we can get better at and I think we will, because we brought some good pieces in.”
Midfielder Paul Arriola has been the most prominent of those pieces, and in his second start for the Black and Red, he injected pace and dynamism to the D.C. attack, while contributing two of the team’s six shots on target.
“He looked much more comfortable and much more dangerous as is going to be the case as he plays and finds new relationships, gets more training sessions with the guys and settles in,” said Olsen. “He’s a damn good soccer player. He’s gritty, willing to do things on both sides of the ball and grinds. He’s very well rounded and we’re lucky to have him.”
Olsen saw positives as the team’s attack began to show sparks of life. Attacking play will continue to be a point of emphasis as D.C. heads into its final stretch of games.
“There were plenty of goals out there tonight, 2-v-2's and 3-v-3's, so it’s certainly about getting sharper in the final third,” said Olsen. “Some of it will happen organically as the new guys get more training sessions.”
Despite this, the game’s lone goal was scored by Colorado’s Jared Watts, whose errant back pass found its way past Tim Howard in the 27th minute. But in a season where things have largely not gone their way, D.C. players were happy to be granted a stroke of luck.
“If you fight and you get a lucky bounce, I think we’ll take it,” said D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid.
In addition to the luck of the own goal, and several off-the-post bounces from Colorado attackers in the game’s final minutes, Hamid did his part to preserve the win with four saves.
“Bill was great,” Olsen said of the performance. “It’s what we’ve come to expect out of Bill. Our centerbacks held tough throughout the night. [Colorado] is a tough team to deal with on set pieces.”
Even with the three points Saturday D.C. United remains at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table. But the road result did well to boost the team’s confidence.
“You’ve got to continue grabbing points each week,” Hamid emphasized. “Like I’ve said, there’s still hope. The numbers haven’t cancelled us out of the playoffs yet. We’ve just got to not get too high and focus on Atlanta on Wednesday.”
ExtraTime Live from CenturyLink Field!
Watch ExtraTime Live on Sunday at 8:30 PM ET. The guys will be on the ground in Seattle to lead you into the final match of the weekend with exclusive interviews and everything you need to know from Saturday night's action. Set a reminder to watch
