Match 37- DC United x New England Revolution
November 5, 2006
RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.- By Joseph Schoenbauer, Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Agony As DC United Wastes Their Opportunity To Return To MLS Cup
18 shots and 9 corner kicks later, DC United have been harshly knocked out of the MLS Cup playoffs by a New England side who were fortunate to score on their only shot on goal of the entire game.
Barely three minutes into the game DC United found themselves down 1-0. Forward Pat Noonan was given ample time by Facundo Erpen on the right side of the box to chest down a long pass from Jay Heaps before crossing to Taylor Twellman whose one time volley was perfectly executed.
The DC United onslaught began immediately after. Or rather unfortunately, the DC United spurning of chances began immediately after. Much of it came from the nine total corner kicks, with virtually everyone in the box on them from both teams with the exception of Troy Perkins. New England could never clear cleanly, allowing the likes of Jaime Moreno, Brian Carroll and Bryan Namoff second chances to pepper the goal with shots from around the top of the box, only to be thwarted at the last possible second by the inspired Matt Reis and even defenders faces in some cases.
Head coach of the Revolution Steve Nicol couldn’t have been further from the truth when he said, “We defended magnificently and I don't remember a chance where you would say that they should have scored.”
DC United shouldn’t have scored?! That’s like saying, “Diego Maradona wasn’t any good,” or “Chad Ashton is the best player in the history of MLS.” When Ben Olsen was played through beautifully by Freddy Adu in the first half and he had gaping holes on either side of Reis, the crowds reaction to Olsen choosing to shoot right at Reis instead surely must have been enough for Steve Nicol to realize DC should have by then been on level terms, if not already back in the lead.
The truth was the all conquering, slick passing DC United team from the beginning of the season was amazingly finding their feet again.
But the squandered chances miraculously continued, while DC Soccer’s MLS League MVP award winner Christian Gomez failed to turn up in the dangerous situations that he regularly thrives in.
In the end, not even the tirelessness of Ben Olsen, who at one point in the second half looked like he was throwing his heart at the ball more so than his physical body, could muster the ball into the back of the net.
Ben Olsen, visibly exhausted after the game for his effort, had this to say, “Today I don’t think we should hang our heads. We made a mistake, they finished it and they defended. DC United was on their game today. Soccer’s a crazy game when you can dominate a game for ninety minutes and walk away a loser and that’s how it worked today. Matt Reis did a great job…they were scrambling, we had them on their heals.
He continued, “I’m really proud of the way we finished this season with this performance. Soccer is crazy; it’s a cruel game sometimes. I’m proud to be a part of DC United. It’s been a great season. There’s no way these guys should have their heads down.
He finished by looking towards next season, “Next year we have CONCACAF and it’s very important for this club, it’s an international tournament. We’ve got a lot of work to do next year.”
Final Notes
While DC United should have finished at least two or three of their clear chances, the ease at which New England scored their goal in the opening minutes of the game was equally agonizing. Noonan easily broke free of Erpen’s marking down the right side, while Namoff got caught out badly positioned yards away from Twellman when he volleyed home. While Namoff has been a sure and steady defender over the last several years, the form of Facundo Erpen in the last half of this season should be a very worrying concern for Peter Nowak. He has been responsible for several glaring mistakes down the stretch, including getting beat by Altidore in the last game for New York’s only goal.
And while now may not be the best time to discuss these things in detail, the reality is that in just a weeks time (November 14th to be exact) DC United must submit their “11 protected players list” for the upcoming expansion draft, meaning a lot of thinking will have to be done from this day until then.