The tantalizing temptation is to think back to the last time.
Two years ago, D.C. United ended its four-year playoff drought in dramatic fashion before the largest crowd of the 2012 season at RFK Stadium.
- Related: Updated Playoff Scenarios
After one season without playoffs, it has the chance to do so again in front of home fans on Friday, needing just a tie with Sporting Kansas City to claim a place in the 2014 MLS postseason.
But the players understand that the task isn’t yet complete.
“It’s definitely exciting to know that you’re for sure in, but there is still work to be done,” United midfielder Perry Kitchen said.
United Head Coach Ben Olsen had joked following his team’s 1-0 win over Philadelphia last weekend that he was disappointed to find out that the team hadn’t yet qualified for the postseason. Some of his players weren’t sure, and it wouldn’t have changed their approach anyway.
“We knew we were close, but it’s not over until it’s over,” United goalkeeper Bill Hamid said. “We just have to keep getting results and keep going about our business the right way.”
Olsen set the goal at the beginning of the season to reach the playoffs, and it has been the driving motivation all year. But there’s also a subtle change that has taken place over the course of the season as the wins started to mount, and the players began to understand just the kind of potential they had in their locker room. Greater ambitions beyond simply reaching the postseason started to lurk just below the surface.
“I think in the middle of the year we started thinking about that, ‘What if?’” said Hamid. “How do you start building now, getting consistent performances now just to have confidence going into the playoff matches, when the grind really starts?”
That acknowledgement has manifested itself in D.C. United’s approach on the field. In Chicago two weeks ago, the Black-and-Red fought back from a two-goal deficit to grab a crucial point on the road. Last weekend’s tightly contested 1-0 win over the Union had all the trappings of a playoff game.
More of the same is expected against the reigning MLS Cup champs, who’ll be riding high after a midweek visit to the White House. It will be a chance for United to clinch its postseason invitation and measure its readiness to handle even loftier expectations.
“I think once we accomplish the playoff goal, then we can start to reassess what we want to accomplish,” Kitchen said. “But we haven’t done that so we’re still holding tight on our main goal.”
Want to be here to watch D.C. United earn a playoff berth? Buy your tickets to Friday's match vs. Sporting Kansas City here.
