United End Tough Season On A Down Note
Well, it was almost too appropriate.
Closing out one of the more disappointing seasons in recent memory, United lost its final match of the season at RFK last night, 4-2, against Honduran side CD Marathon. Marathon booked their place in the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Champions League with the win, while United cemented their status as one of only two sides in the competition's group stages not to muster a single victory.
Like so many games this season, it started so promisingly. United came out aggressively, looking to at least make a heartfelt effort for the 7,000-odd folks who came out on a chilly Wednesday evening. After an inswinging corner from Marc Burch was pushed over the cross bar in the seventh minute, Santino Quaranta fed a nice ball into the box three short minutes later. Francis Doe poached on the rebound, coolly slotting away on the volley for a quick 1-0 United lead. But just like in many of this year's games, the team seemed to either lose focus or concentration in their own end - and a pressing Marathon side caught them on the back foot time and time again. Three Marathon tallies in twenty-three minutes straddling the halftime break - with a questionable ejection of Santino Quaranta squeezed in between - spelled the end for United. Francis Doe was also sent off for a poor attempt at a tackle right before the full time whistle. A season of high expectations and lackluster results ended with nine men on the pitch - a status that feels figuratively fitting for the season at large.
While the side did manage to win the U.S. Open Cup for the first time since 1996, the team's league and international play was, to be fair, not up to snuff. The team's league form was unbelievably inconsistent: three league wins in the first three months of the season, a three-month run between 5/24 and 8/23 where they earned 28 of a possible 36 points, and then a final two months where they lost five times. Victory in any of those matches, and we're talking about prepping for the first leg of the playoffs right now. We're hard-pressed to remember an MLS campaign by any team where they won 75 percent of their total points in one twelve-match span. But all that is over - and D.C. will be sitting at home for the next five months, preparing themselves for next year's campaign; with the league as parity-filled as it was this year, there were few excuses for that kind of performance.
What about United's international experience this year? The less said the better: including last night's match, the squad was 0-8-1 in international competition since July.
So where does the team go from here?
Well, first, there was some good this season. The United front office did a fine job of bringing in talent that flew under the radar this year - players like Ivan Guerrero, Louis Crayton, and Thabiso Khumalo were more often than not pleasant surprises. Up top, last year's MVP Luciano Emilio and captain Jaime Moreno - when healthy - were potent as usual. Santino Quaranta - who, by most accounts, should be the easy choice for MLS Comeback Player of the Year - had a career rejuvenating campaign.
But there are some obvious areas of improvement. First, everyone and their mother realizes that the team needs something to change in the training room. United had an unacceptable number of injuries this season - most of them nagging knocks to hamstrings and groins that, somehow, turned into season-long ordeals for many players.
The front office also needs to address the issue of leadership. Absent Ben Olsen for the entire season, United often lacked someone that was able to reverse the tide of a negative result, both on the pitch and in the locker room. No offense to Jaime Moreno, who is a fine captain, but this team needs a fiery player who can take them by the scruff of the neck and turn losses to draws and draws to wins - and it just wasn't there this year.
Also, the team would be wise to shore up the back line. While defenders like Marc Burch and Devon McTavish are good players in MLS - which has always been an offense-first league - there were numerous occasions where mental errors at the back line cost the team sloppy goals. We're not saying that the team should totally overhaul the entire defensive corps, but a good signing or two and a coaching upgrade couldn't hurt.
Then you get to the more difficult questions. After leading United to a couple of fairly pedestrian seasons, is coach Tom Soehn on the hot seat? Who will United attempt try and make a splash with on the designated player front? (Their first DP, Emilio, has worked out pretty well. Last year's, midfielder Marcello Gallardo, probably would have been better if he could have stayed on the field.) What will happen this offseason in regards to new stadium discussions? Who will the front office leave exposed in this year's expansion draft?
For now, thinking about those questions is infinitely more appealing than looking backwards at the season that was.