Contrary to popular belief, I don't give player ratings each game just for fun. I also use these ratings to formulate the yearly Annual DCUMD Ratings, or ADRs. Each Top Shelf is worth 5 points, each Call is worth 3, and each Rail is worth 1.
Soehn C R C C R T T R T R C R R R T R R (2. Click to continue reading...

This 1-0 win reminded me a bit of another 1-0 win less than a week ago against the Wizards. United was clearly the better team, and our defense did well in shutting down some opportunities, but a big part of the victory can also be attributed to a weaker team failing to get any quality shots on target. Click to continue reading...

With DC United in the process of finalizing a loan for Tiyi Shipalane from the Harrisburg City Islanders, I was pretty darn confused as to the status of our roster, since we'll now have 27 players listed on our first team roster when the league maximum is 24. Sounds like a good time for a late season roster reset!

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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...

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the last CONCACAF Champions League game my fiance and I will be attending until things change. The lineup put on the field to start was a sham. That backline had no prayer of stopping goals, as they had never played together, and one of the worst defenders I have ever seen, Avery John, was at center back.

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It's time for the Champions League to return. I just got home, so we join tonight's matches in progress. DC United 1-1 L.A. Firpo 66' Pachuca - Jalapa 1900 Commentary after the jump. 1832: Jaime Moreno exits, and Pontius enters for DCU. 1825: Lost possession by DCU (Jacobson I think) and Firpo go forward. Click to continue reading...

Good evening everyone. As another busy summer rolls along, a new competition officially enters the fray with the preliminary rounds of the CONCACAF kicking off tonight. Starting off the competition will be D.C. United, who take on a team from El Salvador,

With Ives on vacation and out of the country, I'll be coming to you live from the press box at RFK Stadium with commentary and insight from the match.

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So after talking again with my source, as well as team officials, I'm pretty sure we can say that Ben WILL finish out the season, but should be seeing reduced minutes once Clyde gets back from his surgery, and Danny Szetela works his way into the team. Hopefully, Jacobson can break thru his quasi-funk, and be a contributor.

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There was a bit of an off-hand comment from a user on the Soccer Insider this morning when Goff revealed the news that Josh Gros had been offered a position in the front office by Piotr Nowak and the Philadelphia Union. The commenter b18bolo suggested that Nowak might also go after some of his other former players like Ben Olsen and Bobby Convey.

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There are six games on tap this Saturday. Plenty of choices. So we sort the wheat from the chaff so you don't have to.
Here's what we will be watching (and attempting to stream):
DC United at New England Revolution
Regardless of off the pitch issues DC United sees to be hitting its stride again this season. Click to continue reading...

And around the interwebs we bounce. Off we go! USA! Bradley calls 24 for the qualifiers, including a couple of guests, one of whom is United's own Luis Robles...oh, yeah, right. Might have been nice for him to follow the Jacobson track back to... Click to continue reading...

With the sudden flurry of activities reported by Goff from the RFK grounds, after a long and uneventful offseason to this point, this seems like as good a time as any to reset the roster. This was my bit before it was Fullback's! Changes from last month are in bold:
Senior roster (20 slots): 1 Emilio, 2 Moreno, 3 Doe, 4 Pontius, 5 Fred, 6 Quaranta, 7 Khumalo, 8 Guerrero, 9 Simms, 10 Vide, 11 Olsen, 12 Jacobson, 13 Burch, 14 McTavish, 15 Janicki, 16 Roger, 17 Crayton, 18 Wells Namoff. Click to continue reading...

I've been pretty busy with house additions and family functions the past couple weeks, so without the capability to DVR matches that frustatingly are not on television, my reactions to these past two matches are coming only from video highlights and the written opinions of other fans, bloggers, and reporters. Click to continue reading...

I'm having a real hard time figuring out how to feel about this tie. The ending kind of makes it feel like a win. I can tell you with certainty that that was the loudest I've yelled at my tv this year with Benny scoring a goal in extra time. But apparently the recurring theme of the season to date is earning ties against teams that we are better than. Click to continue reading...

Maybe it's just me, but I found most of that match to be pretty boring. What I saw were two teams who didn't seem inspired, and a whole lot of players on each side who may have been content with just one point while still at or near the top of the Eastern Conference, and with another game just three days away. Click to continue reading...

What an incredible contrast from the previous match. Even though they both ended in ties, this was a much more inspired DC United club, playing against a much more inspired opponent. The match against Kansas City earlier in the week saw two offensive subs (Gomez and Emilio) enter the match and have no impact. Click to continue reading...

Sheesh, it never rains but it pours. So I'm reading the Goffblog and get the sorry news that the Bum Hammy Hammer is continuing to put a pounding on the Bearded Bombardier. Still, I think to myself, Jacobson looked decent against KC. Maybe we... 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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It is an absolutely gorgeous night out at the ballpark. The teams are out for pre-game warm-ups, and the fans are starting to file in for tonight's battle for 1st place. D.C. enters tied with Toronto FC atop the Eastern Conference standings. The Wizards will assume the top spot with a victory tonight. Click to continue reading...

In the realm of statistics that ultimately mean nothing, but are none-the-less fun to write, I give you this: D.C. United has not lost a match in which they have conceded the first goal. Again, there is a difference between consistency and resiliency, but D.C. United have the second trait fully demonstrated in the early matches.

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March 2009: 0-0-2 (2pts, 1p/g, 3GF, 3GA, 0GD, 1.5 gf/g, 1.5ga/g)
April 2009: 2-1-1 (7pts, 1.75p/g, 6GF, 5GA, +1GD, 1.5 gf/g, 1.25ga/g)

We're going to chunk every month of the MLS Season, to see what, if any, insight we can derive from examining a series of games rather than focusing on an individual game.

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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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What a meh week following a meh result, that I couldn't see. Gotta love when a game isn't on, and you have to catch whatever you can online. So, we all know now that DC lost 2-1 off of a goal by Javier Morales. Before that, United-Slayer Beckerman smacked the crossbar. So, after the first goal by RSL, you really felt that the field tilted their way.

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There is always something beyond the immediate. After every win there is a loss. Even when you win the championship, eventually you fall. That's life. But try telling that to a team of high school boys celebrating their day in the bright ligts of the big city after bringing home yet another title to Martin [. Click to continue reading...