D.C. United defender Greg Janicki is asking for help in raising money for Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He writes:

"A lot of you know I grew a ridiculously stupid mustache this year that was just for fun. Now I figured I might as well grow it back for a good cause throughout the month of November.

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Before we get to the award, an announcement...
Over the next two and a half weeks, we'll be running a contest here with some pretty cool prizes to give away. And to win them, all you have to do is vote for the Benny Awards! The team's hooked me up with the following prizes: a DC United/Volkswagen team scarf, the 2009 DC United media guide, and a Gatorade/MLS towel. Click to continue reading...

By definition, the Donnety Award goes to the player who has been the biggest disappointment for DC United in 2009. The award's namesake Matias Donnet came to United in 2006 and was seen as a potential all star due to his pedigree after playing for Boca Juniors, as well as spending some time in Serie A. Click to continue reading...

Following their 1-0 win at San Juan Jabloteh on Sept 15th, the guys have been resting up, practicing, and hopefully getting some tactical and finishing work in before their next game on Thursday, against Marathon. I've been doing much of the same, save for the practicing or working on my finishing.

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Never before that I can think of has DC United made so many roster moves so late in the season. It's obvious that the team is trying to make a strong push for the playoffs, and trying to put together the best roster possible before the acquisition window closes for the season.
Since we last spoke, the team has made a couple new moves, including the signing of Lawson Vaughn. Click to continue reading...

We'll shortly announce that the club has signed defender Lawson Vaughn. The 25-year old has been training with the team for several days and will take the place of defender Greg Janicki, who has been put on the disabled list with back spasms.

Vaughn spent three and a half seasons as a member of Chivas USA, before being waived earlier this year.

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As originally reported here (in The Offside's First official scoop), Bill Hamid, Annandale native and academy product, has signed with MLS and will be on DCU's roster as the third goalkeeper. As a result of this and other additions like Shipalane, Habarugira, and James, someone on the current roster will have to be cut.

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A loss is pretty much what we expected on the road in Honduras, but it's disappointing all the same because it could have been so much more. And we're once again reminded of 2008. If you're unfortunate enough to recall the 2008 Champions' Cup and Superliga, you'll remember that DC United looked to be of fairly equal caliber to most of their opponents, but ultimately flunked out of the tournaments due to several individual mistakes and unlucky breaks. Click to continue reading...

This is the fourth in a recurring series where we look at the DC United season, five games at a time.
Results: 1-2-2. 9 GF, 11 GA
Standings: Third place in the Eastern Conference
Statistical Leaders: Christian Gomez (3 goals, 2 assists), Luciano Emilio (3 goals), Bryan Namoff, Jaime Moreno, and Fred (1 goal, 1 assist each)
Most frequent lineup:

What we liked:

• The Christian Gomez of 2007 - In the first half of the season, there was a wide variety of candidates for DC United's MVP: Quaranta, Pontius, Moreno, Gomez, maybe even Wicks or Jakovic.

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Boy did I miss the feelings of 2008. Poor motivation in international tournaments, decent possession but few shots on target, costly individual mistakes... This is deja vu all over again.
1. In his first bit of extended time, Danny Szetela stood out in an otherwise mediocre midfield. Click to continue reading...

Well, the whole two half things has never been more apt. I don't know what Tommy said to the team in the locker room, but it worked something special.

The first half was honestly the worst 45 minutes of soccer I've ever seen. I'm counting Screaming Eagles pickup games in that assertion.

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United's Chris Pontius and Greg Janicki discuss this Saturday's match against the Colorado Rapids. Might the team have a bit of a bad taste in its mouth after the 3-0 loss in Colorado last month?

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A 1-1 tie would have been a pretty good prediction going in, and isn't a bad result for us. But it feels good to say that this team deserved better. DC United dominated in scoring opportunities, with 11 shots on goal to Columbus's 3. But they were a bit more effective at converting their few opportunities, as we let the Crew off the hook far too often with failed chances and weak shots straight at the keeper. Click to continue reading...

Omar Cummings slips an attempted tackle by D.C. United defender Greg Janicki en route to his first goal of the game Saturday night in Commerce City. (photo by Tom Auclair/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

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The Rapids made an opponent pay.

Omar Cummings collected two goals and an assist, and goalkeeper Matt Pickens and the Colorado defense played a nearly flawless game in a 3-0 victory over D.

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I can't remember the last time I've said this, but this Colorado Rapids team is actually pretty good. And they deserved this win.
Also, I think this might be the first team we've played this year where I'm actually jealous of their defense. Very underrated. And with Colin Clark and Omar Cummings, Colorado has two brewing stars. Click to continue reading...

You know how I keep arguing for Jakovic over Janicki in the center of a back three? Well, here comes Clyde Simms to get my back, making my point admirably in Goffster's story on the Serbo-Canuckian defender... "He never really panics and allows us... Click to continue reading...

It's funny. When you don't have wins, draws don't feel particularly good, but if you win two in a row, a draw feels okay. To me, at least. It's not that I am particularly overwhelmed by United's performance, but there was good in it. And if you're offering me a draw, on the road, on short rest, without Ben Olsen and starting left back Marc Burch, well, I'll take it.

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Behold the beauty of Greg Janicki's facial hair!

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In a sparsely attended game (which may be the worst to take your Dad to as his first professional soccer experience), DCU beat out FCD 2-0, with goals by Fred and Brandon Barklage, who dazzled. Chances were easy to come by, as DC had Dallas goal under siege from the get go.

Fred missed a sitter early in the first half, and Quaranta was not playing his best, despite what Goff's ratings may tell you.

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Obviously, we still have one game left in the season, but it's meaningless beyond possibly finalizing who we're going to protect in the expansion draft. Which raises something of an interesting point. Shatz at DCUMD wonders if Johnson-wRongen talked up Greg Janicki too much, leading to him being a possible target for Seattle. Click to continue reading...