The 2015 Major League Soccer season is finally underway! Week one has been busy for D.C. United as they closed their 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League campaign–they were knocked out by Costa Rican side Alajuelense despite a 2-1 win at RFK Stadium last Wednesday– while making their 2015 Major League Soccer debut. Last Word’s District Digest takes you through D.C. United’s action on and off the field in week one of the MLS season.
3/4/2014: In the thick of collective bargaining agreement negotiations a couple miles away, D.C. United met L.D. Alajuelense at RFK Stadium trying to overcome a 5-2 deficit after an error-filled leg in Costa Rica. D.C. started out with nearly all the attacking pressure and Jairo Arrieta was able to put them up 1-0 off a brilliant effort in the 36th minute. It appeared momentum was on their side as United put almost relentless pressure on the Costa Ricans’ defense. In the second half, United started where they left off before the break, but the Costa Ricans then resorted to some aggressive and ultimately ugly soccer in their effort to run out the clock. Alajuelense were able to capitalize on a counterattack in the 70th minute to level the score at 1-1; United would need to score three to advance. Fabian Espindola notched United’s second goal on the night in the 89th minute, but by that point their fate was essentially sealed. Head Coach Ben Olsen was frank with reporters after the match:
“I thought [the referee] could have managed the game a little bit better, but wasn’t the reason we’re not moving on in this competition; this is about the first leg. We fouled that part up and it’s the second time we’ve done it. And we need to learn that lesson that in a competition format like this–such as the MLS playoffs–you’ve got to show up both legs and go about it in a dire way and we didn’t do that. To get out of that hole that you dig, you have to play a perfect game. Everything has to go your way, and tonight it didn’t. But I was proud the guys, if you just take this game, I liked what I saw.”
Steve Birnbaum joined us on Last Word Soccer Club radio and echoed Olsen’s sentiments, while waxing a little further into the greater discussion of the performance of MLS clubs in the CONCACAF Champions League:
“It’s tough to go into the tournament, especially when we’re in our offseason; we go into it in preseason, being in the quarterfinals, whereas other teams in central America are in midseason. That’s already a setback for us….it’s hard to prepare for it….I can see why an American team hasn’t won it yet.”
3/5/2015: Details of the new MLSCBA began to make their way to the media. In addition to a substantial rise in the league minimum salary, a form of free agency was introduced for players over the age of 28 who had spent 8 or more years in Major League Soccer. Despite some criticism of this aspect of the deal as inadequate, free agency now exists in MLS over the loud objections of several old guard owners who insisted free agency was not on the table. In the words of Simon Evans (somewhat paraphrasing Tally Hall) on Last Word Soccer Club last week, “We’ve achieved this….Next time around, the discussion is not going to be in five years time ‘Can free agency exist within the frameword of MLS?'” Free agency can only become less restrictive in future negotiations.
3/6/2015: D.C. United signed Notre Dame defender Luke Mishu, who played with the club as a trialist during preseason. General Manager Dave Kasper noted his preseason contributions when asked to comment on the signing, adding ““He will provide us with solid depth at the wide back positions, and we believe he has a bright future as a professional.”
3/7/2015: Opening weekend came to the District as United’s faithful gathered at RFK Stadium to watch their club grind out a 1-0 win against the Montreal Impact. Attendance was a record low for a season opener at 11,549. It seemed fitting that United would open their campaign against fellow CCL quarterfinalists Montreal, even more so since Montreal has advanced to face Alajuelense in the semifinals of that competition after an enthralling 1-1 tie with Pachuca last Tuesday. With the shorter turnaround, there was concern about how much energy the team would have to finish out the match. In a half of several near-chances, United appeared to have the upper hand after the first 45 minutes. Jairo Arrieta was finally able to break through in the 58th minute off a perfectly-placed weighted pass from Chris Rolfe. Arrieta almost assisted a second which Chris Pontius drove off the underside of the crossbar in the 61st minute. It was at that point that it seemed United were running on fumes and the dame came dangerously close to leveling, as Montreal’s attack was able to put a shot on frame off a poor clearance from Hamid. Minutes later, Justin Mapp of Montreal had to be escorted off the field and hospitalized for a dislocated elbow. United held on to win the match 1-0.
