D.C. United's Behind the Badge

SuperLiga game #3: Houston 3 - DCU 1

07/19/2008 10:36 PM by Kyle Sheldon

Let's move on, shall we? SuperLiga is over and now the team must turn their focus back to MLS play with a quick three-day turnaround, as Houston stick around for the June 4 make-up game. Following Tuesday's match at RFK, United will enjoy a much-needed break without a game until Saturday, August 2 (Kansas City Wizards @ RFK Stadium, 7:30 p.m. ET).

A special congratulations to Mike Zaher who made his first team debut tonight, coming on for Bryan Namoff in the 76th minte.

We'll be back with a few post-game quotes, but I don't think any of us want to dwell on this game, nor this tournament. I know I don't.

UPDATE: A few post-game quotes below and some photos added to the Video & Pics page.

D.C. UNITED DEFENDER MARC BURCH

On the loss

We just have to get back to the league and try to start winning again. It’s tough to take three losses but we’ll learn, we’ll move on. We’re in a good place in the league right now and if we beat them on Tuesday it’s a more important game.

On the game

It’s just personal responsibility, if you got a man going to score. The last goal was an unlucky touch and very dumb but I thought we played good soccer and for most of the game I thought we played good defense. There were just a couple of breakdowns.

On bouncing back

It’s a new generation tomorrow. [We have to] make sure we get our legs back. Some people are going to be playing. We’ll give Jaime [Moreno] some rest and Luciano [Emilio] some rest. I think we’ll be good for Tuesday.

D.C. UNITED DEFENDER BRYAN NAMOFF

On being tired

It’s one of those middle-of-the-season lulls, so to speak. It’s just difficult. This was a tough game. Motivationally, we’re so far down and it [would be] almost a miracle to come back. Just with the heat and humidity, the number of games we’ve had this last month – it takes its toll on a player. We’ve got one more to go look for on Tuesday and then we’ll have a little bit of a break which I think will be really needed to try to come back.

On the team’s performance

You can see a lag, you can definitely see some tired legs and you get a sense we need to regroup. I think this is definitely a time when the bench is going to need to give us some added depth in the latter half of the season.

HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR

On the game

We were trying to win. From the very first minute we knew that D.C. had a difficult task. The score in the first half complicated it even more. So we just tried to get an early goal that would put us in a better position and would make it harder for them. Upon that, why leave up four substitutions when we can substitute liberally. So, we gave the guys some rest, because of the importance of Tuesday’s game against the same opponent. I am pleased we won.

On Brad Davis

Brad Davis served a great ball. So if you have timing, service and aggression, you will create danger; and the key is that Davis has very good service.

On the fatigue of his team

Some guys were exhausted, three games in a week is hard. Besides, we had to travel too. And of course, Tuesday’s game against Chivas was physically and mentally draining. So we tried some players today such as Bobby Boswell, Craig Waibel, Eddie Robinson and Ricardo Clark. We will do our best to give the guys some rest before this coming up game against D.C. United on Tuesday.

On the line-up for Tuesday’s game

It looks easier if we consider that we can be confident about those guys in the bunch. We have a very complete team, it’s a luxury, so we can play with the substitutions. To have those guys available, Dwayne De Rosario, Brian [Ching] and Eddie [Robinson], outside the field, and ready to play, makes you a better team.

HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFENDER BOBBY BOSWELL

On the game

[We’re] just happy to get the win. We wanted to come in and secure a spot in the next round. We knew getting a win would take care of that. We were upset with the Chivas game. I thought we outplayed them. To lose a home game like that with the whole crowd that was out, it’s always upsetting so coming here and getting a win is good. There were some numbers down on both sides but it didn’t matter. We took care of business.

On scoring

You want to score obviously. As a defender you don’t get many chances and when you score, it doesn’t hurt to score against a team you got traded from but for me getting the win was a lot bigger deal than anything else.

On Tuesday’s game

Tuesday is a different game. It’s a league game, it’s not the same competition. It’s a whole different level. Glad that we got the game [tonight] and moved on to the next round in this tournament but the league game on Tuesday means something different. We have to hopefully keep this run going.

3 Comments

Houston Dynamo, SuperLiga

DCU vs. Houston: Starting lineups

07/19/2008 6:54 PM by Kyle Sheldon

Kickoff is just around the corner and Tom Soehn has named his starting lineup. With a few tired players after a bunch of games during the last month, the coaching staff has decided to rest a few key players. Here's the eleven that will take the field to start against Houston:

Zach Wells; Bryan Namoff, Pat Carroll, Devon McTavish, Marc Burch; Craig Thompson, Clyde Simms, Fred, Ryan Cordeiro; Luciano Emilio, Francis Doe.

Subs: James Thorpe, Quavas Kirk, Rod Dyachenko, Mike Zaher, Dane Murphy, Jaime Moreno, Gonzalo Martinez.

1 Comments

Houston Dynamo, SuperLiga

SuperLiga game #3: DCU vs. Houston

07/19/2008 8:35 AM by Kyle Sheldon

Well, it will be interesting to see what Tom Soehn and the coaching staff decides to do tonight. Needing a three goal win over Houston and a Chivas win over Atlante (they kick off at 10 p.m. ET) to advance, it's an obvious long shot. The coaches may decide it's worth it to go for it or may decide it's such a small chance to advance that it makes sense to rest guys for MLS and Open Cup play. I'm curious to see which route they go. Keep in mind, that after tonight's match D.C. and Houston have to face each other in a League match on Tuesday at RFK.

Tonight's game kicks at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen nationally on Telefutura and locally on Comcast SportsNet. If radio is your thing, tune in to WFED 1050 AM for Tony Limarzi's call (be sure to also check out the pre and post-game shows!).

As we wait for the game, be sure to read all of the latest news and views out there:

Steve Goff writes about the two possible avenues for the match in the Washington Post.
John Haydon of the Washington Times says winning by three isn't impossible.
Charlie Boehm writes about Jaime Moreno as the team's spark plug at dcunited.com (game notes here)
From the Houston Chronicle, Bernardo Fallas writes about the double dose of games over the next four days.
Get your Capital Weather Gang forecast here.

As per usual, we'll take predictions in the comments. If you guess the correct score, you'll have a chance to be randomly selected to win two tickets to an upcoming United game of your choice. We reserve the right to do whatever the heck we want with all contest on BehindTheBadge.com, by the way.

8 Comments

Houston Dynamo, SuperLiga

D.C. United Academy player honored

07/18/2008 8:56 AM by Kyle Sheldon

We received word early this morning that D.C. United Academy player Paul Torres has been named to the U-15/16 Academy Starting XI for his play in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The midfielder helped United to a 16-8-6 record and second place finish in the Mid-Atlantic Conference at the U-16 level.

The Starting XI were voted upon by the Development Academy coaches and National Team scouts. The full team follows:

U-15/16 Academy Starting XI
GK: Rafael Diaz – PDA
D: Zarek Valentin – IMG Soccer Academy
D: Jossimar Sanchez – PDA
D: Ryan Metts – CASL
D: Reginald Phelps – Schulz Academy
M: Johnathan Aguirre – PDA
M: Harrison Petts – Carmel United
M: Eduardo Alvarez – Greensboro
M: Paul Torres – D.C. United
F: Soony Saad – Vardar
F: Austin Oldham – Carmel United

Congrats, Paul!

0 Comments

D.C. United Academy, News

Gallardo, Peralta to have surgery

07/17/2008 2:21 PM by Kyle Sheldon

After being evaluated today in Germany, it has been decided that both Marcelo Gallardo and Gonzalo Peralta will need surgery for sports hernias. Gallardo will have bilateral sports hernia surgery, which will require him to go under the knife both tomorrow and Saturday, while Peralta only needs work done on the left side which will be completed tomorrow.

Gallardo has not played since United's June 29 win over the Galaxy, while Peralta has been out since the team's July 8 win over Chicago.

All surgeries will be performed by Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck in Munich, Germany. In the past, she has performed the same surgery on Bryan Namoff and former United players Justin Moose and Christian Gomez.

Recovery for this particular surgery generally takes 2-3 weeks.

UPDATE: Apparently, a former United forward - who shall remain nameless - checks BehindTheBadge.com periodically. He just informed me that a number of other former United players have had the same surgery by Dr. Muschaweck including Alecko Eskandarian, Ryan Nelsen and former skipper Peter Nowak. He also tells me that there is a picture of Nowak on the office wall there that is, according to him, "the FUNNIEST pic - he has curls!" Thanks for reading.

5 Comments

Gonzalo Peralta, Marcelo Gallardo, News

Dave Johnson on Redskins, Fenty and United

07/17/2008 1:07 PM by Kyle Sheldon

Be sure to keep an eye on wtop.com for Dave Johnson's regular column 'Dave's Take.' His most recent piece is especially a good read. He discussed Mayor Fenty's recent comments about trying to get the Redskins back in D.C. and how it is "a slap in the face" to D.C. United. Give it a read here.

Dave Johnson is the voice of D.C. United on Comcast SportsNet and has been calling United game since the team's first season. He is easily one of the best play-by-play men in U.S. soccer. He can also often be heard on Fox Soccer Channel when not calling United games. Oh, by the way, he's also the radio play-by-play guy for the Wizards and the Sports Director for WTOP. Safe to say, he keeps pretty busy.

4 Comments

Bloggable, Dave Johnson

Carvallo released

07/17/2008 11:07 AM by Kyle Sheldon

We'll officially announce shortly that we've released goalkeeper Jose Carvallo. The Peruvian joined United on January 28 of this year, but never really fought his way into the first team. He made a lone first team appearance on April 12 when the team lost to Real Salt Lake 4-0. He also made six reserve team appearances (five starts), putting together a 2-2-1 record and 1.22 goals-against-average.

3 Comments

News

Access United: Atlante recap

07/17/2008 9:25 AM by Kyle Sheldon

Not that anyone really wants to relive this game, but here's the newest Access United with post-game video from the sidelines and interviews with Tom Soehn, Zach Wells, Luciano Emilio and Jaime Moreno. Keep in mind that when this was shot, most of the players thought it unlikely that the team could advance into the semis with an 0-2 record. We now know it's possible, though a bit of a long shot, needing a three goal win over Houston and a Chivas win over Atlante.

1 Comments

Access United, Atlante FC, SuperLiga, Video

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