After clinching a playoff berth on Saturday with a 0-0 draw against Sporting Kansas City, the team returned to training to prepare for its upcoming match against the Houston Dynamo (Sunday, October 12 - 3:00 p.m. on dcunited.com/live). Noticeably absent from practice was Homegrown goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who was called up to the U.S. National Team for its international friendly against Ecuador this Friday, October 10. Hamid will then travel to Houston following the game and be available for selection on Sunday.
The Black-and-Red began its practice with dynamic stretching and agility drills that consisted of weaving in an out of cones, one-touch passing, one-touch volleys, ladder drills and hurdles. Once players were warm, they were split into two groups. Each group set up passing squares where they worked on control and pace with quick two-touch passing followed by one-touch give-and-go’s.
The team was then given a short water break before heading into team possession drills. Players split into two groups of eight and played two-touch keep away. After ten minutes, the coaches added two players to each team, but kept the play half field. Eventually the possession game turned into a mini scrimmage as the coaches set up four goals (two on each half). It was tight spacing, but Chris Pontius eluded a few defenders and scored with a well-placed shot from seven yards out. There were a few close calls after that, but none of them found the back of the net to tie the game. At the end of the drill the starters from the game against Kansas City were dismissed from practice.
For the rest of practice, the coaches brought in the normal goals and played a full field scrimmage with the remaining players. Eddie Johnson opened the scoring by faking out the only defender in front of him then powering the ball into the lower right-hand corner. As time winded down, David Estrada finished off a nice cross by heading it into the goal to tie the scrimmage, 1-1.
United hosts Fan Appreciation night on Saturday, October 18 at RFK. Stay warm with the scarf pack, 2 tickets + 2 scarves for just $42! Buy now
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<p class="affiliate">Training Notes presented by <a class="red" href="http://www.theorthocentermd.com/">Orthopaedic Center</a>.</p> |
