Match Previews

DC United Hosts Barons in US Open Cup

Due to their abysmal regular season performance last year, DC United took the long road towards their US Open Cup title defense this year having to win two qualifying matches in order to enter the tournament proper at this stage. However, they dispatched FC Dallas and NY Red Bulls relatively easily and now face perhaps a much more daunting task in the OC Barons.

No disrespect to Dallas or NY (well maybe disrespect to NY, who has proven in this tournament they are not usually the best team in NY, or even Maryland, much less the US given their losses to such notables as the Staten Island Vipers and Crystal Palace Baltimore), but playing an MLS side carries none of the inherent overconfidence, and later the abject fear, of possibly losing to a lower division side.

And a loss to the Barons would be even worse than any other loss in this tournament in the history of the franchise. Make no mistake; this is a match DC will never live down if they lose. No amount of hedging and rationalizing will suffice if United lays an egg in this one. Losing to an amateur side? Unthinkable.

So, no pressure or anything, but this is the Baron’s Super bowl. They will do their best to pull off the upset of their lives. DC had better not overlook this team as the Barons beat two pro teams (USL) to get here and they have the third best number of wins against pro competition in Open Cup matches in PDL history with four wins overall, as well as being the only PDL team to qualify for the Open Cup proper four out of the last six years.

However, the Barons have never faced an MLS squad, nor have they ever advanced past this round before. The highest they’ve ever gone is the sweet 16 in 2005 before losing to the Richmond Kickers, who United beat in the next round that year. But, then again, the Barons also lost to Harrisonburg in 2007 and United didn’t quite make it past them either that season.

This season, the Barons have about as solid a defense as it gets in the PDL. They’ve only given up 8 goals in 10 games so far this season (2nd in their division) mostly due to the excellent play of goalkeeper Tunde Okinbiyi, who has been called in to the Nigerian U-23s despite still being an underclassman in college. Plus, they boast the charmingly named Jamal Neptune who apparently is as good as his name implies.

Also, the Barons are no stiff offensively being third overall in the Northeast division at 6-3-1 averaging nearly two goals a game. One familiar face on the Barons will be their second leading scorer Byron Carmichael, who played for the Wilmington Hammerheads when United squeaked by them 1-0 in this tournament in 2003. Carmichael also is tied for the third highest Open Cup goal total with 10 over the years. Jaime Moreno, who will not play in this match, is second on that list with 11 Open Cup goals lifetime.

Now that said, DC has all the advantages in this one assuming the soccer gods don’t punish them unexpectedly. First of all, the game will be at home and don’t think DC didn’t have that in mind when they refused the Barons offer of buying the rights to this match so it could be played on the NJ boardwalk. DC is 13-3 against lower division teams in this tournament and all 3 of United’s third round upset losses have been on the road in whatever cow pasture they found themselves on, including one in Harrisburg Pennsylvania a mere two years ago.

On the other hand, DC is 13 and 2 overall at home, both losses coming to MLS sides. Even better, DC has never lost to a lower division team at home. Plus, in Germantown DC is 6-1 (Dallas – Curse that dratted anchovy!) in this tournament,. True, United has never played a PDL side before, but they did come close and it was another skell from Jersey then, when they thumped the D-3 Stallions 8-0 in DC’s first ever match at the Soccerplex.

It will be interesting to see who Soehn plays in this one. Given that Moreno, Emilio, and Fred are all hurt, Santino is with the US National team and Jakovic with Canada for the Gold Cup, his choices are narrowed down some. But, as Soehn learned in Harrisonburg, playing too many youngsters can court disaster no matter who’s on the other side of the field, so I think he will temper his lineup with some veterans to keep things rolling the right way.

Replacing Jakovic is the biggest concern, and I think its fortuitous timing that this match comes after more than a week off from their last match. Janicki had a horror show in Colorado, some of that I suspect due to Soehn’s last minute switch in formation. But DC will have had almost 10 days to rest up and work out the kinks to be ready for Jakovic’s long absence. I would imagine Soehn goes back to three in the back and plays Namoff and Burch outside of Janicki so that that unit can be in game shape for the upcoming MLS matches. Plus, if Kocic is to start as I suspect, he will have had the reps to continue his solid play (1.0 GA) that helped DC qualify for this stage of the tournament.

In midfield, I think Gomez and Olsen get the night off too. Gomez because he really plays much better with his buddies Emilio, Moreno, and Fred then he does with the youngsters, and Olsen because I don’t think he puts his foot down and demands to play in this one. Next week (soccer gods willing), I think they both play, but not this week against basically scrappy college kids.

So, I suspect Barklage gets another run in the center of the field where he has scored two goals in two games in qualifying for this stage, and Jacobson holding next to Simms, who I think will play for his leadership. Maybe McTavish or DiRaimondo, but I think Simms gets the nod given the long break leading into this match. Which leaves Pontius on the right and Wallace on the left as there’s pretty much no one else and they’ve had plenty of rest too.

Obviously, without your top three forwards you’ve got to go with what’s left which means N’Silu and Khumalo. Now, this is a downright intriguing pairing. You’ve got speed, guile, and confidence to spare in Boyzzz alongside strength and determination, as well as a nice tactical awareness in N’Silu. I think these two have some nice possibilities if they connect well, so the Barons might be the perfect chance to see what they can do.

Six out of the eight times DC has won in the third round, they’ve made the semi-finals or finals of this tournament, and they’ve won the trophy twice, in their first season in 1996 and last season. So, this win is crucial. Assuming United avoids overconfidence and the soccer gods keep their meddling paws out of it, DC has a good shot to go deep again this year.

Next up would be either the Harrisburg Islanders or the New England Revolution, who tanked against DC last season in the Open Cup when their schedule got tight and the same thing is going on now as the Revs have to play Superliga as well as gear up for returning to MLS action.

If DC wins, they will host the Revs or the Islanders next Tuesday at the Soccerplex.

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