After nearly five straight weeks on the road, D.C. United players returned to the comfortable confines of their RFK Stadium locker room on Monday morning. The weather outside wasn’t exactly hospitable – cold and gusty conditions for practice at Long Bridge Park in Arlington – and their immediate task isn’t easy either. But that doesn’t mean that erasing the three-goal deficit they face in the second leg of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals is an insurmountable task.
A determined group will rematch with Alajuelense on Wednesday (BUY TICKETS) with belief that advancement to the semifinals is within reach. The team isn’t afraid to draw upon lessons learned only last fall in the MLS Cup Playoffs, when a 2-0 defeat put the Black-and-Red on their heels heading into an emotional second leg at RFK.
United has the chance to make history when it takes to the RFK field for the first time in 2015. Since the inception of the CONCACAF Champions League in 2008, teams have come back from first-leg deficits in the quarterfinals on seven occasions, including twice by two-goal margins. In 2009, Santos (Mexico) lost at the Montreal Impact, 2-0, before winning the return leg, 5-2, and in 2010, Pumas (Mexico) suffered a 2-0 loss at Marathon (Honduras) but turned in a 6-1 victory in the second leg to advance. In the tournament’s current format, no team has come back from a three-goal deficit after the first leg.
“Both of those experiences are something we can draw upon for Wednesday,” said United Head Coach Ben Olsen. “Whether or not we get the bounce or the call that helps us – because let’s face it, a three-goal deficit is a big hurdle – but it’s been done before. If we can make it interesting and things go our way, maybe we can get through this.”
- Olsen gave a number of injury updates as he works to prepare the group for Saturday’s regular season opener against Montreal as well. Goalkeeper Bill Hamid returned to practice on Monday, but Markus Halsti (MCL sprain) and Luis Silva (hamstring) both remain sidelined and will look to make their 2015 debuts in the coming weeks.
- Returning to the Washington area after missing the heart of an intense winter has its drawbacks. Steven Birnbaum, who spent a good chunk of preseason soaking in the warmth of his native Southern California and made his U.S. Men’s National Team debut in Chile, got an unwelcome surprise upon his return. His car battery was dead, forcing him to spend his first day back in town waiting on AAA.
