As Ben Olsen strolled into his usual post-game press conference on Saturday evening, it was clear that something was different about D.C. United’s young head coach.
Gone was the relaxed, affable nature that Olsen is known for, replaced with a steely gaze and an air of distemper. The coach took his usual seat at the front of RFK Stadium’s subterranean media room, glanced at a sheet of statistics and set his eyes on the media assembled in front of him. After several moments of awkward silence, somebody was going to have to speak.
“Ben, is it hard not to feel a little done wrong by the…” I started, attempting to ask Olsen a question about the officiating in United’s 1-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Olsen only let half the question get out before setting off on a rant that’s likely to draw a hefty fine from Major League Soccer.
“It’s a joke,” Olsen said of the officiating, his voice often raising to a yell. ”We get the same clown show every weekend. They all even out? Bullshit. They don’t even out. Not this year they haven’t. Nobody wants to hear the coach in last place complain about the refs, but i have a group of men in there that have fought their tails off today, and they’re gutted. I pushed guys to the limit and they gave it to me today. They gave me everything they had.”
Olsen’s primary point of contention was a second-half penalty call that gave the Vancouver Whitecaps the only goal they’d need in their victory at RFK Stadium:
Two minutes into the second half, Whitecaps forward Kenny Miller found midfielder Matt Watson streaking down the left flank. Watson took a touch and headed toward the box, where he was met by an onrushing Bill Hamid. Though United’s goalkeeper appeared to make contact with the ball before making contact with Vancouver midfielder, referee Matthew Foerster—who Olsen would later refer to as “the clown in the middle”—immediately pointed to the spot for a penalty kick. Camillo Sanvezzo converted the ensuing penalty to put Vancouver up early in the second half.
Vancouver coach Martin Rennie had a much simpler view of the call: “I think it was a stonewall penalty. I didn’t have any doubt in my mind that that was a penalty kick.”
Olsen’s post-game outburst continued, next turning his ire to what he considered a missed handball during second-half stoppage time. “And then he doesn’t make the handball call in the 93rd minute,” he ranted. “They’re easy calls! I’m not asking him to be a “super referee.” Make the right call. If Bill Hamid touches the ball and his followthrough trips the guy, It’s not a PK. If the ball hits the guys hand in the area, it’s a PK.”
United entered their encounter with Vancouver brimming with optimism. After a miserable start to their 2013 campaign, United found a bright spot in the U.S. Open Cup and, more recently, in several solid league performances, including last week’s MLS win over the San Jose Earthquakes.
And they were actually dominant in first half, out-possessing the Whitecaps from the opening whistle. Just one minute in, Dwayne De Rosario fired off the first of United’s 12 first-half shots, redirecting a corner kick with a side-volley that narrowly missed the target. Six minutes later, De Rosario combined with Kyle Porter on another chance, but his strike from 12 yards out was deflected.
United’s best chance to pull ahead in the opening 45 came 17 minutes in, when center back Ethan White played a through ball about 40 yards to fellow defender Chris Korb. Korb turned and played an awkward cross to Chris Pontius 10 yards from goal, but Pontius appeared to trip himself up while attempting the shot. Pontius got another chance seven minutes later, coming inches short of connecting with a De Rosario cross at the top of the six.
The second half played out in Vancouver’s favor. After the aforementioned penalty kick, the ‘Whitecaps continued to press for a second, and nearly found one during the 65th minute. But Hamid remained up to the task of keeping his side in the game, blocking Jordan Harvey’s long range attempt and parrying away Russel Tievert’s follow-up attempt.
D.C. had a series of late chances, but Carlos Ruiz, Casey Townsend, and Hamid all came up short in the game’s final minutes, leaving United to ponder what could have been and wonder what exactly they have to do to find the back of the net.
It was more of the same for United. They looked better offensively on Saturday evening than they have all year. The center back pairing of Ethan White and Daniel Woolard once again looked solid, and Chris Pontius continued to round into form. But United’s loss boils down to one cold reality: they don’t finish their chances.
Despite that, many United fans will just pin this one on Foerster, the referee. Olsen’s job security has been and will likely continue to be a frequent talking point, something that wasn’t lost on the third-year coach as he came to the end of his post-game rant. When asked if he got any explanation out of the officials, Olsen scoffed.
“They don’t have to explain,” he bellowed. “I do. To my owners. Why we lost another game.”
