It seems only fitting that after the club’s offseason personnel difficulties, that whole stadium thing, and a disappointing 2-2 draw last weekend in Los Angeles, D.C. United’s 2009 home opener was played under a gloomy, overcast March mist and a somewhat disappointing crowd of 15,895 — if there ever was an evening that foretold an unsatisfying draw was just over the horizon, well, this was it. And so it came to pass: despite several injuries, D.C. United had some great chances but couldn’t take advantage, tying Chicago 1-1 on Saturday night.
As the club took the field, it was clear that if there’s one thing that the offseason did bless head coach Tom Soehn with, it was an abundance of midfield talent. Even though both Fred and Santino Quaranta — two of United’s more dynamic midfield players — were hampered by injuries, Soehn trotted out a 3-5-2 formation to show off his team’s strength in the middle of the pitch. Those injuries gave chances to players like rookie Chris Pontius (whom Soehn praised post game for being “spot on”) and club stalwart Ben Olsen, both of them looking in fine form. Along with the returning Christian Gomez — for whom the crowd handed down a very generous reception in introductions — United looked crisp in midfield, winning tackles and making incisive runs at Chicago’s defense, especially after Fire captain and center-back C.J. Brown came off early in the game with a bum right quad.
On the other hand, though, it’s obvious that the depth at goalkeeper is not as strong. Starting keeper Louis Crayton was also missing in action after a suffering a hip flexor in the preseason Carolina Challenge Cup. Josh Wicks, who arrived at the club via a trade with Los Angeles and won the backup job after Zack Wells’ retirement earlier this year, handled the keeping duties on the evening, making a couple fine saves. Fortunately for United, his errors were not completely pounced on by Chicago’s experienced forwards — a flubbed ball, a mishandled rebound, and a misplay on a breakaway only led to one Fire goal. It easily could have been three.
