With a 1-0 win over FC Dallas on Saturday night, D.C. United rose above the Montreal Impact in the Eastern Conference standings after chasing the Canadian side throughout August and September. The one-point lead over the Impact means United are above the playoff line for the first time since their push for the postseason started. But with three games left in their regular season campaign and the East's race remaining tight, the Black-and-Red have no room, or plans, to slow down.
“It doesn’t do it for me,” Head Coach Ben Olsen said of the team's rise above the playoff line. “It will when this is all said and done, if we’re still above that line. That’s the goal. I’ve been through too many of these seasons to understand how crazy the last month is and how dire each point is going down the last couple of weeks.”
The Black-and-Red remain under pressure in the final weeks of the season, with home matches against Toronto FC and New York City FC looming, then a trip to Chicago to finish off the regular season on the road. But captain Wayne Rooney believes that pressure isn’t just the Black-and-Red's reality: it’s actually good for the squad.
“We want pressure moments. You want to feel that pressure and I think it’s important,” Rooney said after the match. “The players have been brilliant and they’ve really shown that they can handle the pressure, which, if we make playoffs, we’ll need.”
Olsen and his players acknowledged their jump into the playoff spot after Saturday’s game was another important step in their journey toward the postseason, but remained focused on the task at hand: keeping that spot above the line. Their mentality of taking things one game at a time will continue through the final two weeks of the regular season, as it has throughout their playoff run. Now, the Black-and-Red reset and get ready to host defending MLS Cup champions Toronto FC for a midweek match at Audi Field, and while Toronto have been eliminated from playoff contention, Wednesday's game could have huge implications in the standings, either creating a more comfortable gap between D.C. and Montreal, or leaving the door open for the Impact.
“[Saturday] was a big win," defender Steven Birnbaum said. "We knew coming into this game that we would jump Montreal with a game in hand. We’ve been saying it, we still control our own destiny, and [now it's] a big game against Toronto on Wednesday that if we win that, really puts the pressure on Montreal for their game on the weekend. So, we know what we’ve got to do—if we win on Wednesday, we’re in a good spot.”
“The mentality of this group is pretty good,” Olsen added. “I keep being a little bit on guard for complacency, but they’re a pretty determined group. And I expect them to be excited about where we’re at, but with the understanding that we’ve still got a few games to really make sure we control this. Montreal is in good form, some other teams are still in the mix. So, we’ve just got to focus on the next game. I know it’s cliche, but that’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve been telling them not to look at the standings, don’t worry about it. We’ve got a game this Wednesday against another very good team at home and we’ve got to take care of business.”
Unbeaten in seven matches, the Black-and-Red have been taking care of business, but the need to execute is never as important as it is in the final games of the regular season. With the Dallas match behind them, all attention turns toward Toronto on Wednesday, and United know if they continue to show up and get the job done, the race for the postseason will take care of itself.
