Things certainly didn’t unfold the way D.C. United had planned in Chicago, but it didn’t stop the team from satisfying one objective and getting the important benefit of another.
The wild 3-3 draw at Toyota Park provided one more crucial point to keep separation from rest of the Eastern Conference. It also was a successful test of the team’s resolve, a trait the players know will be required if they are to make a deep run in the playoffs.
In fact, they believe they could’ve and should’ve done more than settle for a tie after erasing a two-goal deficit.
“I think it says a lot about this team,” said forward Luis Silva, who found the net twice, increasing his career-best total to 10 goals and take D.C. United’s scoring lead. “I think that we just try and focus on every game, one game at a time, and try and not worry too much about traveling and all of that. I give a lot of credit to the boys for that, for sticking together and coming back from 2-0.”
Quincy Amarikwa was largely responsible for the early hole, scoring first in the 16th minute then drawing a penalty kick in the 32nd that left the Black-and-Red stunned and frustrated.
It also forced them to adjust tactically to the challenging surface at Toyota Park, conditions they ironically found somewhat similar to those in their CONCACAF Champions League match at Jamaica’s National Stadium five days before.
“We were worried about what we couldn’t control, and then we started playing a little more direct,” said United defender Bobby Boswell. “Whether it was the field or our soccer on the night, it wasn’t working the first 20 minutes and we kind of switched it up.”
The shift paid dividends quickly in the form of a Luis Silva penalty kick in the 39th minute to cut the margin in half, 2-1. It quickly restored D.C. United’s belief and seeded doubt with the Fire. The additions of Chris Pontius and Chris Korb off the bench at the break were added proof of Head Coach Ben Olsen’s determination to turn the contest around.
“With a team like us, that’s had a good year, we believe we can win, and I think a team like Chicago, they’ve been tying a lot or losing, I think maybe they were rattled going into halftime, saying, ‘Let’s not let this happen,’” Boswell said. “That’s in their head, you know. We come out and get a great goal, and then we’re rolling.”
Indeed, Silva delivered a magnificent game-tying free kick in the 54th minute, and Boswell ensured that Perry Kitchen’s slow bouncer across the goal line got punched back in the 68th minute. When the final whistle sounded, it was D.C. United, not Chicago, that had to be satisfied with merely a point instead of three.
“Everybody kept their cool,” said Kitchen. “We never panicked. We just kept trying to find a way through. Eventually we did. It’s good to know we can do that, but it still needs to be better from the start.”
Catch the Black-and-Red at RFK two times this week! On Wednesday vs. Tauro FC in CONCACAF Champions League: BUY TICKETS, and on Saturday against the Philadelphia Union: BUY TICKETS
