For the first forty-five minutes at RFK Stadium last night, it felt like there was something missing. Maybe it was the team’s shooting boots, maybe it was the initiative. Possibly that little extra oomph which the team usually comes out of the tunnel with. It might have been the intricate touch and innovation in front of goal.

But if Ben Olsen — who wore the armband for United, bringing back memories of his last great spell of play for the Black-and-Red in 2007 — is to be believed, it was just United being “put to the test.” Well, after the club scrapped out a 1-0 victory over the visiting Houston Dynamo, was it worth it?

“It’s good to be tested,” Olsen said with a sly grin.

Yes, the first three games of D.C. United’s 2009 campaign could certainly be described as “testing” — especially if the team had not been able to rescue a result from what was, for the first half, an ugly soccer match. In such a matchup of two soccer teams looking to gain some traction, it could go one of two ways — both teams either go all-out in a desperate attempt to grab three points, or the game turns into a forum where chippyness is king and every inch is hotly contested in a battle of attrition.

32 fouls between the sides, a straight red card, only one goal, and legitimate chances few and far between? Yeah, it’s safe to say that this was one of those battles of attrition. Fortunately for United, the second half was a much more cohesive effort, and that’s why they were able to come out on top of a Houston team who was devoid of any spark whatsoever.