DC United will look to string together two wins in a row for the first time since 2009 this Saturday night when the Seattle Sounders come into town. United (1-2-1) is coming off a nice 4-1 performance over FC Dallas. Meanwhile, Seattle (2-1-0) is coming off a 1-0 loss to San Jose, and now embark on their first road match in Washington.
After last week’s big win at home, the general buzz around DC has been relatively positive. The fans obviously are happy after seeing the Black and Red put up four goals, and the club was happy to get that first win of the year. Now, they want to carry that momentum into the Seattle match, which will be an important match. Ever since Seattle has entered the league, a lot of their fans have taken up the attitude of “we’re better than you” (see University of Kentucky fans as well). While they can be annoying, a fan base like that is always good for the league, and you always want to beat them. This is that type of match. So we would expect something to happen before the match to start the fire right? Leave that up to Marc Burch.
For any new DC United fans, Marc Burch used to be one of our outside backs. After last year, DC chose to let him go into the Re-Entry Draft where he was picked up by Seattle. Apparently, Burch has some negative feelings about this and made his feelings known about DC United and current left back Daniel Woolard. This incited many United fans to answer back via Twitter, making jokes about Burch’s playing ability with the hashtag “#burchfacts.” Now, I don’t consider DC United and Seattle a real rivalry because of the massive distance between the two, but you can’t hide the pre-match banter which builds this match up even more.
So what will it take for DC United to win on Saturday? Number one is playing perfect defense. Seattle was the highest scoring club in MLS last season. Even with Mauro Rosales listed as doubtful for this weekend, their core of attacking players remains one of the best in the league. David Estrada has scored four of the five Seattle goals this year, including a hat trick vs. Toronto. Alvaro Fernandez leads the club with two assists from the midfield, and Fredy Montero is second behind Estrada with 11 shots. To defend this attack, there cannot be any mistakes, which is why Brandon McDonald’s suspension could be a major factor. McDonald is one of our best center backs and had secured a starting spot, but a hard tackle against Dallas resulted in MLS handing down a one-match suspension and fine to McDonald, despite the foul only earning a yellow card. Now, the key will be the communication and chemistry between Emiliano Dudar and Dejan Jakovic, who comes in to replace McDonald.
On the offensive end, DC also has a great core of attacking players. Dwayne De Rosario has moved back into the midfield to help set up the two strikers. While we haven’t seen him score a goal yet, the time is quickly coming. Hopefully Maicon Santos can ride the momentum of last week’s brace into this match and put pressure on Seattle’s backline. If the midfield can click like it did last week, then there is a good chance to grab three more points. We may not get another four goal performance, but I can see DC scoring two to three goals against Seattle. And speaking of goals, Hamdi Salihi is due for a goal. Salihi is a finisher which means he needs the help of others to set him up, but he will need to take full advantage of any opportunity he has against Seattle.
This will be the only match in the regular season between DC and Seattle. There is no guarantee of these two clubs meeting in the playoffs or the US Open Cup. Whoever wins this match will have bragging rights for the season on the message boards. I want to have those bragging rights over the emerald-cladded fans.
(image courtesy of dcunited.com)
