This was not exactly the weekend that D.C. United was hoping for. A 3-2 loss to the non-playoff bound Columbus Crew closed out United’s MLS regular season and snapped United’s unbeaten streak (dating back to July). Worse yet, United lost their two star strikers, Luciano Emilio and Jaime Moreno, to foot injuries.

With last night’s Fire victory over the Galaxy, United were assigned the Thursday night time-slot against a Fire team that might be the hottest in the league right now. And do we even need to mention that United has never defeated the Fire in the playoffs? Early word out of RFK says that Jaime should be OK but Emilio might not be available for the first playoff game.

Sure, misfortune reared its ugly head this past weekend, but United should not be pushing the panic button quite yet. Reserve forward Guy-Roland Kpene played a gritty, encouraging second half and the only other starter who will miss the match is Josh Gros (out for the season with wrist and concussion-related injuries). United will have the option of throwing a more conservative lineup onto the pitch, anchored by the defensive midfield tandem of Clyde Simms and Brian Carroll.

If the striking duo injured this weekend can’t make Thursday’s game, how about slotting Chrisitian Gomez into Moreno’s withdrawn forward position? The Argentinean showed his nose for the net Saturday night, scoring both of United’s goals.

Photos by Kyle Gustafson