Predictable. Utterly predictable. Combine an emotional mid-week cup win with a cross-country flight; stir in half the regular starting lineup being out through suspension, injury, or national team duty; blend with a couple of starters shaking off the rust; add an opponent riding a good deal of momentum and looking fresh with an infusion of new blood; and dust liberally with Dyachenko going the Click to continue reading...

A short-handed United club took the field in San Jose with a defined line-up and specific instructions from bench boss Tommy Soehn. The club responded with a huge effort. The team kept its shape. They counter-attacked effectively and created chances. Subs came off the bench and made a difference in the game.

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So Moreno is hanging out with Butch and Sundance, and Emilio's hurt, and I'm thinking, "Well, with Crayton in goal and the steadying presence of Bryan Namoff, Peralta and the new infusion of energy from Joe Vide, perhaps we can eek out a goal on a counter while keeping San Jose at nil." Except, of course, we have neither Namoff nor Vide nor Peralta, and Martinez was clearly watching his "Best of Facundo Erpen" highlight reel.

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Wake Med Soccer Park is one of the finest venues in the United States to watch soccer, if you have a car. The total absence of public transportation to the stadium would be more noticeable if anyone seemed to mind.
A light crowd came out to see the last place Hawks roll the dice in their bid to reach the post-season. Click to continue reading...

In a match where we were missing Emilio, Moreno, Namoff, Fred, Vide, and Peralta, a loss wasn't necessarily surprising. I guess the bright side is that we escaped without any more injuries! Also, I saw tonight that we've got some young players with a lot of heart, and that's got to count for something, even if it didn't earn us any points. Click to continue reading...

I'm a bit behind at halftime on TiVo. But what can Coach say to the team at halftime that is down 1-0 with no offense on the field?? What good is defense at this point?

I'm brainstorming:
1. "Martinez - push forward at will." Thompson for Doe is confusing me.
2. "Simms - shoot from anywhere. Click to continue reading...

No Namoff. No Peralta. No Olsen. No Fred. No Moreno. No Emilio. No matter.

Tom Soehn has named his starting lineup for tonight's match in San Jose. These are the men charged with bringing a result back to the Nation's Capital:

Louis Crayton; Gonzalo Martinez, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch, Mike Zaher; Santino Quaranta, Clyde Simms, Rod Dyachenko, Marcelo Gallardo, Ivan Guerrero; and Francis Doe.

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While United supporters recovered Thursday from a night of celebrating their club's U.S. Open Cup victory, the team packed their bags and flew cross-country to begin preperations for tonight's League match against San Jose. It's tough sledding for the Black-and-Red this weekend. United faithful in the Nation's Capital are dealing with Hurricane Hanna.

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Pierce
Marples
Pelletier


According to Michael Bullock of the Patriot news (click here for the full article), midfielder Jason Pelletier, central defender Nigel Marples, and fullback Ryan Pierce will be on loan to D.C. United for a short stretch early next week. They will report to D. Click to continue reading...

While the USL-1 playoffs may be slipping away from the Carolina RailHawks, the chance to take home at least one trophy this season is still in reach.
With two matches remaining against Charleston, Carolina needs 4 points and a +2 goal differential in their final two matches against the Battery to capture the 2008 Southern Derby trophy. Click to continue reading...

Courtesy of Bernardo Fallas' blog on the Chron site, check out this schedule from now until Halloween for Dynamo, playing CONCACAF Champions League and MLS (not to mention WCQ games for some of them):

Sunday: vs. K.C. at Robertson, 2 p.m. MLS
Sept. 13: at San Jose, 9 p.m. MLS
Sept. Click to continue reading...

The past couple of days got me thinking, this year we've seen so many trades between the clubs. Some moves have paid off and others have been more of a waste than anything. I felt like today was a good day to look back at the moves that have paid off and the moves that [...] Click to continue reading...

Week 24 is already off to a hot start with Colorado's rare road upset of FC Dallas last night. The move bumped the Rapids back into the playoff picture for the time being. Several other clubs hope their luck can change like that this weekend as each club faces some more must-win matches. Back to our [. Click to continue reading...

So the Rapids surprised everyone, especially myself with their 1-0 win against Dallas in a very empty Pizza Hut Park. We'll see if Colorado can back that up and make a run at the playoffs, but I'll leave that til Monday. The big story for this weekend is the number of players who will be [...] Click to continue reading...

I'll be going to GMU tonight to watch highly-hyped UVA freshman Chris Agorsor take on Mason tonight. If any readers spot a guy in a blue dress shirt and a red DC United hat, come say hello. Though strangely for a college match, that might not be easy to do. Mason is saying they've sold [...] Click to continue reading...

Relive last night.

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D.C. United withstood a strong challenge from the Charleston Battery on Wednesday night at RFK Stadium to claim the U.S. Open Cup by a score of 2-1, the second time in history that the club from the nation's capital has lifted the Dewar Trophy, having also won in 1996.

It didn't take long for the home side to pull ahead, with last year's MLS MVP Luciano Emilio striking just four minutes into the match. Click to continue reading...

Fresh off the team's U.S. Open Cup championship, United's General Manager Dave Kasper will join host Russ Thaler on Washington Post Live tonight. WPL airs on Comcast SportsNet at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Dave will be taking with him the Open Cup trophy, and in addition to talking about the Black-and-Red's newest piece of hardware, he'll also discuss the upcoming Champions League and the remainder of the MLS season.

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Following last night's second leg of preliminary round games in CONCACAF Champions League play, United's three opponents in Group A are now set.

CD Marathon (Honduras) came from behind to defeat El Salvador's AD Isidro Metapan 2-1 last night to advance to group play 4-3 on aggregate, while Cruz Azul of Mexico handed Hakook Verdes (Belize) its second seconsecutive 6-0 walloping to advance 12-0 on aggregate.

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Courtesy of BehindTheBadge.com
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D.C. United won the MLS-USL showdown over Charleston in the U.S. Open Cup last night on a goal of true professional quality -- Clyde Simms slipped a long pass through a dummy to Fred, who finished into the sliver of space that Dusty Hudock allowed. (Check the highlights in MLSNET's recap.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

It took a dozen years but D.C. United finally added a second U.S. Open Cup trophy to its loaded trophy case.

The four-time MLS Cup champions downed USL side Charleston Battery 2-1 in the U.

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That was fun. I'd forgotten how nice it was for DC United to actually win something. Four years of hurt and the fact that I was away when DC won in 2004 meant that for me, going down on the field and seeing the players parading the US Open Cup in front of a small [...] Click to continue reading...

DC United won their 12th club trophy last night in the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with their 2-1 defeat of the USL-1 Charleston Battery at RFK Stadium. DC was lead by their two Brazilians Luciano Emilio and Fred in this one as Emilio got the Black-and-Red up early and after Charleston leveled things [. Click to continue reading...

I have breaking news for you. I figured I'd pass along this update after attending last night's New England Soccer Hall of Fame meeting.

The induction ceremony is slated for November 1st at the Riviera Inn in East Providence. Among the nominees are Derek Rae (ESPN soccer broadcaster) and Jeff Causey (New England Revolution 1997-2001). Click to continue reading...