United Head Coach meets with the media after today’s training session. Photo by Pablo Maurer

Some news and notes from todays training session at RFK Stadium:

Hurricane Sandy: Red Bull Arena, the aptly named home of the New York Red Bulls and site of Saturday’s massive Eastern Conference semifinal match with D.C. United, seems to have survived Hurricane Sandy with only minor damage. According to a statement released by the club, the facility sustained “only minor, non-structural damage,” despite being located on the banks of the Passaic River—which had been anticipated to surge six feet or more. The pitch was also covered well in advance of the storm, which dumped some seven inches of rainfall on the surrounding area.

The stadium itself, however, remains without power, and the PATH train that runs to it—used by thousands of fans every game—likely won’t be ready for service by game day. Discussions are ongoing between the league and both teams as far as how to handle the situation.

If the arena isn’t ready in time, the most obvious option would be to swap the home and away dates of the series—which would then see United play at home this coming Saturday before playing the away game next Monday. United President Kevin Payne said yesterday that he wouldn’t support that idea, ostensibly because United would lose the small bit of home-field advantage they gain in playing the second game at RFK. If the final leg were to end in overtime or a shootout, United would prefer to handle that situation in front of a home crowd.

Head Coach Ben Olsen seemed less concerned with the idea of swapping dates: “I’ve always said I’m not that concerned with the order in which the games are played. The advantage is that extra 30 minutes, and penalty kicks—a lot of times it never gets to that point, though, so it’s not that big a deal.” A conference call with the Red Bulls is slated for later today, the club told DCist this afternoon, and they hope to have the issue squared away quickly.

Still, even Payne himself understands the seriousness of the situation. “They were originally told they might not get [electricity] back until Monday,” he told the Post’s Soccer Insider earlier today. “But I would obviously be concerned if the PATH train service isn’t running and you have to think about the emergency service workers and what they are going through right now. Do they really want to now deal with a special event on the weekend where they have to dedicate half of the police force of Harrison to traffic control? It’s a tough situation.”

Injuries: Midfielder and defending MLS most valuable player Dwayne De Rosario continues his remarkably quick recovery from his “season-ending” MCL injury. De Rosario was seen jogging with the team before practice, and spent the remainder of the training session doing a mixture of ball work, lateral movement exercises, and sprints. Daniel Woolard, who continues to regain his fitness after an extended concussion-related absence, participated fully in practice. Lewis Neal, who missed last week’s match in Chicago with a calf strain, also participated fully. Midfielder Marcelo Saragosa seemed to pick up a bit of a knock during training, and was seen leaving the facility with ice on his knee—but was walking under his own power and seemed to be in little discomfort.

The Rivalry: United’s roster is young, and has very little playoff experience. Aside from Olsen himself, and a few veterans—Robbie Russell and Josh Wolff—the team has almost no playoff experience. The team’s longest-tenured player, Chris Pontius, was a junior in college last time the club made the post-season, and homegrown defender Andy Najar was, well, in middle school. I asked Olsen after training if his players had a clear understanding of the gravity of the match-up against New York.

“Until you’re in it,” Olsen said flatly, “you don’t understand it. But that’s what so great about this experience for myself – and our young players as well – is that we’re going to go through this and we’re going to embrace it, learn from it whether we win or whether we lose. This whole stretch of games, whether it was the Columbus game or the Chicago game—these are just invaluable experiences for a young group.”

Pontius himself had a much shorter answer when asked if his teammates had a firm grasp on the importance of the match. “People on this team understand the gravity of the game. It’s just a matter of executing it at this point.”

The quote of the day, however, would probably have to go to United defender Dejan Jakovic. When asked what makes the rivalry between United and the “Pink Cows” so special, he said, without hesitation: “It’s because they have no trophies.”

***UPDATED*** After some deliberation, both clubs agreed – after accepting input from MLS Commissioner Don Garber – that swapping dates was the logical solution to the problem. So let’s recap: RBNY will take on DCU at RFK stadium this Saturday at 8PM. The return leg of the series will be played at Red Bull Arena this coming Wednesday, also at 8PM. Both games will be televised on NBC Sports Network.