This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. With significant periods of rest doled out in a midweek 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake, the Kansas City Wizards attempting to claw their way into the playoffs at home against the conference-leading Revolution, and DC’s own personal chokeponies from New Jersey coming to town, absent the coach that had driven them to a fourth-place tie over the course of the season, things looked so upbeat for the United that claiming the top seed in the conference seemed like a done deal. Even the folks over at DCenters — the smartest and best United blog—seemed to be assuming a United victory in advance (“…by which point a DCU win over the Metros…”).

Chalk it up to irrational exuberance. By the time the curtain fell on the MLS Saturday, the Revs had come from behind to notch a top-seed-saving tie in Kansas City and DC had dropped a 2-1 game to the MetroStars. DC’s defense seemed much too forgiving as the game opened, and seventeen minutes in, Sergio Galvan Rey took advantage, giving New Jersey the early lead. As the half closed however, Jaime Moreno evened the score on a beautiful, baffling free kick that found its way into the upper left corner of the goal and left MetroStar keeper Tony Meola looking for his jockstrap on the sodden turf. But in the second half, DC’s attack, though aggressive, grew less composed, and it was New Jersey that got the tiebreaker in the 68th minute on a finisher from Youri Djorkaeff that was so ferocious that it made one wonder if there wasn’t room for one more retiree to return to on the French national team.