It’s finally over.
On a picture perfect Sunday afternoon, D.C. United marched out on to the pitch at RFK and did what it’s done all year: lose. The Houston Dynamo was the latest benefactor of United’s poor play, booking their spot in the MLS playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the black and red.
It’ll be the last time we’ll see a D.C. loss, this season, anyways. It’s over.
“You never go into a season thinking you are going to win three games,” a somber Chris Pontius told DCist after the match. “It’s been not an enjoyable one. The thing you have to take from it, you have to learn from the mistakes that were made – the whole club does. Every player does. You can’t just let this be a waste of a season. You got to learn from the mistakes that can make yourself better.”
So where does the loss leave United? At 3-24-7, D.C. finished the year having tied or set a bevy of all-time records for futility. Their three wins were one fewer than the previous record, set by Tampa Bay (in ’01) and Chivas USA (in ’04.) They averaged 0.65 goals per game, well below the previous record – which belonged to DCU’s 2010 squad. Their goal differential, a staggering -37, is also an all-time MLS worst. They tied the all-time marks for fewest wins (four), most road losses (14 of them) and fewest road wins (they didn’t win a single league game on the road).
A back and forth first-half saw both teams create chances, the Dynamo making the better of theirs.
Houston was handed an early lead when United defender James Riley brought down Giles Barnes in the box in the game’s opening minutes. Boniek Garcia stepped to the spot and struck a blistering PK to Bill Hamid’s right; Hamid guessed correctly but could do nothing as the ball sailed past his outstretched fingertips.
United had their share of chances as well and equalized in the 28th minute. Chris Pontius used pace and a bit of guile to assist on the second goal, making a crafty run down the left flank before crossing to a poorly marked Kyle Porter. The Canadian international nodded it home, tying the match and giving him a share of the team lead in goals – with three.
The draw would be short-lived. Brad Davis swung a corner kick in toward the area, and Giles Barnes managed to shake both James Riley and Luis Silva, powering the header home and putting the Dynamo up for good.
“We were a little outmatched physically.” Olsen lamented after the match. “We put some guys in some spots they weren’t used to. But overall, it’s still the same old us. Good stuff, good quality, good build-up, just not enough killers in front of goals or not enough guys with the final play, the final savvy to pull of a few goals.”
D.C. and Houston ground through a far more uneventful second half, both teams trading half-chances, Houston seemingly content to fall back and defend a one-goal lead against the most offensively anemic team in the league.
In the end, it would be the Dynamo who marched on to the MLS playoffs, and D.C. who marched into the wrong end of the record books. Of all of the players who I asked to reflect on United’s lackluster campaign, Hamid was the one, perhaps, who summed it up most appropriately:
“It fucking sucks.”
