D.C. United are riding high after the World Cup break, posting two road wins and extending their away winning streak to three for the first time since the 2007 season. It is a huge moral victory for United after last season’s debacle, and a testament to the organization for making such a huge turnaround. Leading the conference at the halfway point of the season and beyond is no small feat, but the past weeks’ results mask a tactical and philosophical issue that could come back to bite D.C. United in the playoffs or in future seasons.
United arguably had their best, most promising showing in the 1-0 home loss to the Seattle Sounders on June 29th. Despite the final scoreline, United played some of their best soccer of the year for a full 90 minutes and were poised and controlled on offense. The image below shows a possession heat map for both United and the Sounders. D.C. was clearly dominant in the midfield and possession-oriented with higher passing accuracy, three times as many chances, and a dominant aerial presence allowing them to see upwards of 65 percent of the ball.
Scoreline aside, this is the United team that has the best chance of making waves in the postseason and bringing United back into perennial contention in the years to come. It is this dynamic and captivating style of play that will bring casual Washingtonian soccer fans into the fold and make them fans, season ticket holders, and voters who will support plans for a new stadium at the currently-proposed Buzzard Point site.
DC Dispatch: DC United Strategy, Avoid the Bunker
Contrast this with United’s first half performance at Toronto F.C. on July 7th or their second half against San Jose on the 12th, and you’ll notice a tendency to bunker and rely on the defense and Bill Hamid to keep balls out of the net. To a certain extent this is necessary, as United’s back line has lacked the explosive speed necessary to defend on the counter against the leagues fastest players (see the home opener against Columbus and the the match against Montreal in May for proof).
Ben Olsen’s side has seemed content to keep minimal possession and rely on the counterattack to see out matches for the past couple road games, most glaringly against San Jose on July 12th. After coming on strong for the first half and arguable dominating a struggling Earthquakes side, United bunkered in throughout the second half and only created half as many chances as a struggling San Jose, while allowing an astonishing 31 crosses in their defensive third. A marginally better attacking side would have capitalized and, were it not for Bill Hamid’s heroic saves (one of which is up for MLS Save of the Week) United would have dropped two points and shared the Eastern Conference lead with Sporting Kansas City after the results rolled in this weekend. The heat map below shows a United side that was penned into their defensive third and not bothering to do anything but counterattack.
As younger players have found their way into the rotation and proven that Boswell and Parke have been a success in developing defensive players for United this season, caution must be thrown to the wind in favor of developing a more dynamic attacking game. Ben Olsen and the D.C. United front office would do well to hire a talented assistant coach to help develop the United attack, which throughout most of Olsen’s tenure United has lacked their historical level of firepower.
United cannot afford to merely defend in the playoffs, and the game itself is evolving away from the bunker and into a back-and-forth match of offenses. There is a huge danger for United and the league as a whole that the game will develop to the point that this style-of-play is painfully ineffective against the best competition and the team will suffer. Competitiveness is not the only issue, however; American sports audiences are already tone-deaf to the thrill of a dramatic and dynamic low-scoring game, but a match which sees a strong defense with no goals against United bur barely even an attempt to put one in themselves would be catastrophic to the team’s image.
