Article by Anders Aarhus


There were plenty of expectations for Ben Olsen and DC United coming into this season as the team was finally expected to turn around their bad form of the last few seasons and contend for a playoff spot. And through the first third of the season those expectations have been met, even exceeded, as the Black and Red are in second place in the Eastern Conference.

The New England Revolution might seem to have been the dominant team in Saturday's contest at RFK, but the score line said otherwise at 3-2. Despite being outperformed marginally on the statistics sheet, DC United only seemed uncomfortable for the first ten minutes of the second half. One need only look at Coach Ben Olsen's excellent personnel decisions to see the reason why.

DC United will look to catapult themselves into the Eastern Conference lead as well as keep their four match home winning streak going with the full three points over long time arch enemy, the New England Revolution when they visit RFK tomorrow night. A win would also cement United at the top of the Eastern Conference [.

By AVI CREDITOR

D.C. United is on the cusp of earning what has turned into a rare distinction for the club this deep into the season in recent years. With a win over the New England Revolution Saturday night, D.C. will enter its three-week international break in first place in the Eastern Conference.

The New England Revolution will have to put last week's disappointing home draw with Houston far behind them as they travel to the nation's capital to take on D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Despite the Houston draw, New England is in decent form, having recently beaten Colorado and Vancouver before the Dynamo draw.

The latest episode of Fans of United is out now. In episode 12 hosts Devon McTavish, Eric Hunsaker, and Chris Wimmer discuss recent wins by the Black-and-Red over Colorado and Toronto, led by Dero and Salihi.
The podcast crew also look ahead to Saturday's D.

Flexibility wins games and the best way to get it is to blend energy with savvy. DC United Coach Ben Olsen put out a nicely blended squad against Toronto and its savvy members made the exact right adjustments to a hard working opposing side which had clogged the middle and kept the game mostly in United's end.

Flexibility wins games and the best way to get it is to blend energy with savvy. DC United Coach Ben Olsen put out a nicely blended squad against Toronto and its savvy members made the exact right adjustments to a hard working opposing side which had clogged the middle and kept the game mostly in United's end.

Flexibility wins games and the best way to get it is to blend energy with savvy. DC United Coach Ben Olsen put out a nicely blended squad against Toronto and its savvy members made the exact right adjustments to a hard working opposing side which had clogged the middle and kept the game mostly in United's end.

By THOMAS FLOYD

Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy may be toiling near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, but their annual rivalry clash at the Home Depot Center on Saturday has become a must-see event.

The match comes two days after Chivas pulled off a pair of high-profile trades, sending Heath Pearce to the New York Red Bulls for Juan Agudelo and acquiring Danny Califf from the Philadelphia Union for Michael Lahoud.

Like any sport where the object is to put a ball or puck in a net, soccer is all about movement, misdirection, and space, executed with speed, strength, and skill. The more different faces a team can present to their opponents, the more effective a team's attack.

DC United presents opponents with unique challenges.

Like any sport where the object is to put a ball or puck in a net, soccer is all about movement, misdirection, and space, executed with speed, strength, and skill. The more different faces a team can present to their opponents, the more effective a team's attack.

DC United presents opponents with unique challenges.

DC United coach Ben Olsen will have to shuffle his players once again ahead of Wednesday's night match against the visiting Colorado Rapids at RFK Stadium. He'll also have to rely on the reigning league MVP, Dwayne DeRosario, to regain some of the form that earned him the coveted award if the Black-and-Red is to get the three points.

Another week in the books and one that saw more movement in the weekly Power Rankings.

Tier one lost a club while a couple clubs inched their way into the bottom mess of clubs. Still, a lot is going on here and we're starting to get a decent handle on who are the top sides in each conference and who are the bottom clubs.

It's here at last! The inaugural MLS match at the Dynamo's new home, BBVA Compass Stadium! I'm guessing most of the usual suspects that discuss matches here will be at the stadium, but for anyone not able to be in attendance, this thread's for you.

BROADCAST INFORMATION: NBC Sports Network - 3:30 p.

By THOMAS FLOYD

The Houston Dynamo's long wait for a home to call their own is finally over.

All eyes will be on the Dynamo this weekend as they open BBVA Compass Stadium, the league's latest soccer-specific venue, with a match against D.C. United in front of a national audience on NBC Sports Network.

It's only been three weeks since the Dynamo and DC United played at RFK Stadium. United won 3-2 and while they've continued to play very well since, things will hopefully be a bit different on Saturday. To preview the match, Martin Shatzer of Black and Red United and I exchanged a simple question: How will this match be different from the last?

Fans of United hosts Devon McTavish, Eric Hunsaker, and Chris Wimmer chat with Dave Johnson, D.C. United's television play-by-play voice for CSN. The guys discuss the current road swing, Ben Olsen's influence on the roster, and the chances for United to end the franchises current playoff drought.

New York hopes to fend off LA this weekend. (Getty Images)

So here we are, at another Friday. We're nearly a quarter of the way through this season and now things being to get real interesting around the league. May is set to be a super-busy month for most of the clubs with games in the league, Open Cup games at the end of the month and for three clubs in Canada, a little Cup competition.

DC United, riding their first winning streak since 2009 thanks to Maicon Santos (left), will likely need some luck to stretch that streak into a third win in a row against the Earthquakes Tomorrow night in San Jose. SJ has ...

Ever since Nick DeLeon got his chance to play regularly for D.C. United, he has played more like a seasoned veteran than a first-year pro, adding a hard-working, prolific dynamic to the left wing, and the effect has been felt on the club that currently boasts the longest unbeaten streak in the league.

D.C. United just keep climbing up the ladder.

For the first time this season, Ben Olsen's squad has cracked the top five of the SBI MLS Power Rankings. United defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-2 on Saturday, stretching their unbeaten run to seven games and claiming consecutive wins for the first time since June 2009.

Another week is in the books for Major League Soccer. Week 9 kicks off tomorrow so it is time to get the rankings out of the way.

A decent amount of movement this week for me. The top three remain the same while the second tier continues to get interesting. The third tier continues to shrink though as another club dropped to the bottom group, which is also growing like weeds.

The best coaches understand that there is no one solution to improving a team. There are 22 people on the field and you can only try to control what 11 of them are doing while the other 11 try to foil their efforts. The game of soccer is simple, but those darned humans playing it make it infinitely variable and complex.

Join the guys as they look back at D.C. United's past three matches, including the draw against Montreal and the back-to-back wins against New York Red Bull and the Houston Dynamo (left). They also look ahead to the Black-and-Red's upcoming road trip and go over the rest of the action across MLS. Photo: Martin Fernandez

BROADCAST INFORMATION: KPRC Local 2 - 6 p.m. (Comcast: 12/HD 612; AT&T Uverse: 2/HD 1002; DirecTV: 2; Dish: SD 2) KBME 790 (ENG Radio) La Ranchera 850 (SPN Radio)
REFEREE: Juan Guzman. MLS Career: 10 games; FC/gm: 26.6; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 6; pens: 2
INJURY REPORT: D.

No team is as reliably almost-but-not-quite great as the Chicago Fire. After their MLS Cup winning expansion season in 1998 they made the playoffs in 10 of the next 11 seasons, but never won it again - a stretch that included 2 finals losses and a grueling 5-year run from 2005 to 2009 of losing in the conference finals 4 times.

Riding a six game unbeaten streak, second in the East DC United (and leading scorer, Chris Pontius, left) hosts the fifth place Houston Dynamo who are winless in their last three, but the disciplined Dynamo have had DC's number for ...

D.C. United are riding high on a six-game unbeaten streak following a 4-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls Sunday night.

Converted forward Chris Pontius is largely responsible for the resurgence in D.C., scoring four goals, including a hat trick Sunday night, since being moved up top to provide the finishing touch his club had been lacking.

D.C. United are riding high on a six-game unbeaten streak following a 4-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls Sunday night.

Converted forward Chris Pontius is largely responsible for the resurgence in D.C., scoring four goals, including a hat trick Sunday night, since being moved up top to provide the finishing touch his club had been lacking.

New York Defense Reaches New Lows After his team's 4-1 thrashing of the New York Red Bull, Ben Olsen called Chris Pontius' potential as a forward "scary". You can't blame him for his word choice as Pontius, just coming back ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

Two hot teams met Sunday at R.F.K. Stadium, as New York headed down I-95 to the Nation's Capitol to face D.C. United. The home team, buoyed by the blossoming of a fit Chris Pontius, struck early and often as they ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

Their Words "We have to understand, you just have to bring that every night if you want results. It doesn't matter who you play: If you don't bring that in this League, it's going to be a long night." DC United coach Ben Olsen. Other Sources Q & A with Jurgen Klinsmann: U.S. Soccer Technical Department Workshop - from US Soccer: "Everybody is together and putting things down on the table with their own specific.

D.C. United's stirring comeback win against New England on Saturday helped boost Ben Olsen's club up the Eastern Conference standings, and also helped strengthen Nick DeLeon's already impressive Rookie of the Year candidacy.

It is only six weeks into the season, but DeLeon has been the most impressive rookie in the league and his two-assist effort in United's 2-1 victory against New England magnified that fact.

Revolution midfielder Clyde Simms faces his former team, D.C. United, for the first time on Saturday. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

Not too long ago, it would've been nearly unthinkable to see a MLS postseason without the New England Revolution or D.C. United. Now the Revs and D.C., set to face off at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, have missed out on two and four consecutive playoffs, respectively.

DC United, unbeaten in three matches look to vault past The New England Revolution into 5th place in the Eastern Conference standings if DC coach Ben Olsen wins his duel with NE's Jay Heaps as the youngest two coaches to face ...

DC United, unbeaten in three matches look to vault past The New England Revolution into 5th place in the Eastern Conference standings if DC coach Ben Olsen wins his duel with NE's Jay Heaps as the youngest two coaches to face ...

By THOMAS FLOYD

After much debate over who is the top team in MLS at this early stage in 2012, Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City will resolve matters just as the soccer gods intended -- on the field.

The matchup between 5-1-0 Salt Lake and 5-0-0 Kansas City -- the league's final unbeaten team -- is the centerpiece of a packed MLS slate this weekend featuring nine games.

Just as DC United has pursued a signature style with varying degrees of success and accommodation to the reality of personnel strength, so has the New England Revolution. United tends to be smaller and more technical in its play while the Revs grew up under Steve Nicol and remain a physical team under Jay Heaps.

D.C. United's Nick DeLeon battles Sporting K.C.'s Kei Kamara for position during the preseason. (Photo: Joshua Pearson)

(Editor's note: Prior to each Revolution match, New England Soccer Today will invite a reporter who covers the Revolution's upcoming opponent to provide greater insight on what to expect on gameday.