Behind the Badge

MLS game #17: DCU @ Columbus

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:30:48 -0500

Following a bye week, D.C. United return to MLS action tonight to face the defending MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. ET before a national television audience on ESPN 2. The Fourth of July match up is the first meeting of the season between the Eastern Conference foes and it promises to be a good one as the teams are separated by just a point at the top of the Eastern Conference table, United sitting in first place with 23 points while Columbus has just one loss in their last 11 meetings to catapult to second place with 22 points.

United will be without the services of four regulars as Jaime Moreno (hamstring) and Luciano Emilio (knee) stayed back in DC to rehab their injuries while Santino Quaranta (USA) and Dejan Jakovic (Canada) are away on international duty representing their respective countries at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

If you're following the game at home and want to join in on the Twitter discussion on the front page of dcunited.com, simply tag your tweets with #dcu or #dcunited.

For all things United, please read the following:

United clings to shaky hold on 1st place (Steven Goff - Washington Post)
Janicki's reversal of fortune (John Haydon - Washington Times)
D.C. United set for fireworks in Fourth of July match up against Crew in Ohio (Craig Stouffer - Washington Examiner)
Poise helps Crew get past rocky beginning (Tom Reed - The Columbus Dispatch)

Kaka arrives

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:48:02 -0500

So how excited are Real Madrid fans to get a look at their new and improved side? 55,000 showed up at the Bernabeu on Tuesday to welcome Kaka to the club. Check out the highlights of the event. Cristiano Ronaldo is scheduled to be presented in similar fashion on Monday.

August 9 can't come soon enough for me.

Here's all of the information you need to get yourself to FedExField to see Kaka, Ronaldo and their new team face Jaime, Benny and our team. Great seats remain available.

Jakovic, Canada defeat Guatemala 3-0

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:11:10 -0500

Canada defeated Guatemala 3-0 Tuesday evening in its final Gold Cup tuneup match, as Dejan Jakovic started and played 45 minutes in the contest. The game was the culmination of a six-day mini-camp in Oxnard, CA. Jakovic joined the squad late last week and hopes to be in the starting eleven when Canada faces Jamaica on Friday in its first Gold Cup game. Fore more on the win against Guatemala, click here.

(Photo courtesy of Richard Scott, Canada Soccer Association)

USOC 3rd round: DCU 2 - Ocean City Barons 0

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:56:44 -0500

It perhaps took a little longer than expected, but United eventually got two late goals - one from Christian Gomez and another from Ange N'Silu - to defeat the visiting Ocean City Barons Tuesday night. By virtue of the win, D.C. advances to face the Harrisburg City Islanders, who beat the New England Revolution 2-1. The quarterfinal game will take place next Tuesday, July 7, at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. ET.

A few post-game links for you to peruse:

dcunited.com match report - by Charlie Boehm
MLSnet.com Match Tracker [stats!]
Post-game quote sheet
Photos via Flickr
Harrisburg match press release
USOpenCup.com tournament bracket

We'll have game highlights and post-game interviews available on dcunited.com tomorrow.

Were you at the game? What did you think?

Photo of the Day: Xbox winner

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:04:21 -0500

Above is Ed Reynolds, who was the big winner of our recent Gamers Giveaway. Ed won a Xbox 360, FIFA 09, four tickets to a United game and pre-game field-side access!

Our marketing interns conducted a scintillating interview with Ed... try not to get too excited:

Are you D.C. United fans?

Yes, we are big fans.

How did it feel when you found out you were the X-box 360 winner?

At first I didn’t believe it when they told me. It wasn’t until they started talking about it that it set in that I had really won.

How does it feel to be on the field for team warm-ups?

This is great, I didn’t expect to be this close with them running right in front of us. They’re a lot taller than I expected too.

You think that contest was cool? Check out our current Soccer Superstar Sweepstakes, which gives you the opportunity to win:

Four (4) passes to the private training session with D.C. United and Real Madrid on August 8
Four (4) Club Level tickets to D.C. United vs. Real Madrid on August 9.
One (1) D.C. United jersey
One (1) Real Madrid jersey

That's one (1) sweet contest! Enter here.

Audio: Roche's big adventure [Bryan Namoff]

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:17:04 -0500

You're all familiar with DC101's DJ-extraordinaire Roche (3-7 p.m. every day on 101.1!). What you may or may not know, is he is a big soccer guy and a D.C. United supporter through and through.

Roche approached me several weeks ago about his desire to do a podcast with United and MLS guys, but he didn't want it to be your run of the mill soccer podcast. In addition to talking a little soccer, he also wanted to get into the lifestyle, off-the-field activities and all the goings-on for professional soccer players in the states.

A couple weeks ago, Roche recorded a trial run with United's own Bryan Namoff, with help from my favorite sidekick, Whitney. Give the inaugural episode a listen - lots of good stuff, including insight into Roche and Namoff's old partying days, using twitter, United's stadium search, Marelo Gallardo's season and much more.

The big challenge now is coming up with a name for the podcast - any ideas?

Who would you like to see interviewed for the next episode, whether a United player or someone else from around MLS?

USOC 3rd round: DCU vs. Ocean City Barons

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:00:01 -0500

D.C. United is ready to take on the Ocean City Barons (PDL) tonight at the Maryland SoccerPlex in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

If you can't make out to the SoccerPlex, you can listen to the game on the radio in English (1050 AM) or Spanish (1540 AM). United Soccer League's will also be providing a single-camera stream via usllive.com, so you'll be able to watch the game, as well!

You can also follow our twitter feed for periodic updates (tag your tweest about the game with #dcu and they'll show up on the front page of dcunited.com).

Should United advance past the Barons this evening, it would face the winner of the New England Revolution and the Harrisburg City Islanders (who also play tonight) next Tuesday, July 7, also at the SoccerPlex.

A few things to take a look at ahead of this evening's contest:

Washington Post game preview (by Steven Goff)
Washington Times game preview (by John Haydon)
Washington Examiner game preview (by Craig Stouffer)
BehindTheBadge.com notes (and more notes)
mlsnet.com game notes (mlsnet.com staff)
Press of Atlantic City game preview (by Susan Lulgjuraj)
sjbarons.com preview (Baron's website)
usopencup.com third round preview
Video: Namoff, Pontius, McTavish discuss game

So, what do you think? Obviously, it's a difficult challenge for any PDL side to go up against an MLS side, but that's the beauty of soccer - you never know how a game is going to play out. The Black-and-Red will need to match the energy and enthusiasm of the young Barons, while also playing its game. Anyone care to make a prediction for tonight's contest?

Everything you wanted to know...

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:39:50 -0500

... about the U.S. Open Cup.

Though United has already won two play-in games, the team's official defense of last year's U.S. Open Cup title begins tomorrow night at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, MD (7:30 p.m. ET). The match-up is an especially intriguing one as the Black-and-Red will face off against the Ocean City Barons - a Premier Development League team, which is made up entirely of amateur players (read: they don't get paid).

Buy your tickets here.

And now, a whole bunch of tidbits and notes about the tournament, United's Open Cup history and the Barons:

After winning last year's edition of the Open Cup, D.C. will need to win four games in order to repeat. Should the team advance, it would face the winner of the Harrisburg City Islanders vs. the New England Revolution (who also play Tuesday night) next Tuesday, July 7 at the SoccerPlex.
The main change to this year's tournament is the reduction of substitutions allowed in a game, from four (4) to three (3).
40 total teams will compete in this year's tournament - eight USASA, eight PDL, eight USL-2, eight USL-1 and eight MLS. As in past years, all MLS teams officially enter the tournament in the third round, while other teams had to win two games to get this point in the competition.
The Open Cup winner receives $100,000 in prize money, while the runner-up collects $50,000. The last standing Division II (USL-1), Division III (USL-2) and amatuer (PDL, USASA) clubs receive $10,000 - a sum the Barons have already wrapped up by virture of advancing to the third round.
The 2009 U.S. Open Cup final will be played on Wednesday, September 2.
Including this year's play-in games, United is 23-9 (32 games) all-time in Open Cup play. The team has won the tournament twice, during its inaugural season in 1996 and again last year. It was the runner-up in 1997, falling to the Dallas Burn on penalties.
In this year's two games, Chris Pontius has two goals and two assists in 153 minutes, while Brandon Barklage has two goals in 180 minutes. Fred has also seen success - two goals an an assist in in 119 minutes - but he will be unavailable due to injury.
Not surprisingly, Jaime Moreno has the most Open Cup goals (11) and assists (9) in club history.
The Ocean City Barons are currently in third place in the Northeast Division of PDL, with a record of 6-3-1. They have outscored their opponents 18-8.
The Ocean City Barons were founded in 1996 and have competed in the fourth tier of American soccer (the USL Premier Development League) since 2003.
Their Open Cup run to the final 16 equals their previous best finish, which came in 2005.
Three busloads of Ocean City supporters are making the trip from New Jersey to Boyds, MD, where the game will be contested at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
From their home venue of Carey Stadium, where a nearby Ferris wheel looms over the playing surface, the Barons have produced a number of professional players, including AGF Aarhus midfielder Jeremiah White. The 27-year-old with one U.S. National Team cap to his name currently plays with Aarhus in the Danish Superliga, where he is teammates with fellow U.S. international Benny Feilhaber.
Average age of the Barons' roster is a little less than 21 years old.
Byron Carmichael is tied for third all-time with 10 goals scored in the Professional Era of the U.S. Open Cup. He is tied with former MLS player Dante Washington and current Seattle Sounder Sebastien Le Toux. He only trails Jamie Moreno (11) and Rochester's Johnny Menyonger (12).
Carmichael has faced D.C. United before as a member of the Wilmington Hammerheads in 2003. He started and played 54 minutes in United's 1-0 win over the Hammerheads, who had defeated the Dallas Burn 4-1 in the previous round (thanks to Carmichael's two assists).
Carmichael is the club's all-time leading scorer with 44 goals, 19 assists (107 points) in 80 regular season games.
Defender Joe Banks and Forward Byron Carmichael are both in their 6th season with the club. Both are coaches in the Barons youth academy and both broke the club record for minutes played in a career on the same day, finishing with the same number of minutes at the end of the game.
After Saturday's game, Banks leads Carmichael by six minutes with 5,813 minutes played. Ocean City is 7-4-0 in Open Cup play (5-2 home, 2-2 away) and has qualified for the tournament five times in franchise history (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009). They have qualified four times in the last six years. None of the 68 teams in the PDL have qualified that many times during that span.
With back-to-back upsets of professional clubs in this year's tournament, they are one of six franchises to ever accomplish that feat.
Since joining the PDL in 2003, the Barons have amassed a record of 64-24-22 (214 points), which is the 4th best record in the PDL during that time. Since joining the PDL in 2003, the Barons have the 3rd best home record (37-9-9) and hold the record for the longest PDL home unbeaten streak (28 games, 23-0-5 ... from 6/14/03 - 7/12/06 -- it was snapped by the Ottawa Fury by a score of 2-1 on 7/16/06)
The Barons have won a number of awards from the USL: 2005 USL Progress Award, 2006 USL Hall of Fame Inductee (10+ club), 2007 PDL Executive of the Year, 2007 PDL Communications Award 2008, PDL Organization of the Year.
The Barons have produced 16 professional players, including Jeremiah White (AGF Aarhus - Danish Superliga) who became the first Baron to earn a cap for the U.S. National Team last year. Some of the active pros include: Tony Donatelli (Montreal Impact), Ryan Heins (Rochester Rhinos), Jamie Franks (Chivas USA), Pat Hannigan (Miami FC), Chris Williams (Miami FC) and Brian Devlin (Harrisburg City Islanders). New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero played for the Barons briefly in 2006, playing in only one game and earning a shutout in a scoreless draw at the West Virginia Chaos on 5/19/06.
Tunde Ogunbiyi and his older brother Jide were a part of the (Silver medal-winning) Nigerian Olympic team training camp. Both failed to make the final roster, but considering Tunde, outside of the PDL, hasn't played a competitive game since high school (0 games played in two years of college at the University of New Hampshire), it's an impressive feat. Tunde is currently attending Boston College. His older brother Jide was drafted by the New York Red Bulls in the 2009 MLS Superdraft, but has not yet signed with a club.
J.T. Noone joins the Barons as the first Division I All-American to ever suit up for the club. He became the first Temple Owl to be named an All-American in 22 years. He also continues a streak of seven consecutive seasons where the Barons have had at least one member of the Temple University program on the roster.
Noone has two goals and two assists in 10 games played this year, including a pair of goals in Open Cup play. He scored the third goal in the team's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace Baltimore, and scored the game-winning penalty kick in extra time against Real Maryland in the Second Round.
Head Coach/General Manager Neil Holloway and Assistant Coach John Thompson were teammates with the Barons from 2002-06. They helped lead the team to their greatest season in 2004 when they completed a rare undefeated PDL season (14-0-4). Thompson was named the 2004 PDL Defender of the Year and joined Holloway on the All-PDL team. Thompson was also an All-PDL selection in 2005.
Thompson and Holloway met as opponents on the playing field when Thompson led Lewis University to a victory over Holloway's undefeated Wheeling Jesuit University in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II tournament.

What are we missing?

(Thanks to Josh Hakala of usopencup.com for providing some of the Barons notes!)

Video: NBC40 previews United-Barons

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:29:57 -0500

Atlantic City's NBC40 put together a preview of Tuesday night's match from the Baron's perspective. A few great quotes from the head coach and players...

And here is the second round recap from the Baron's 1-0 overtime win over Real Maryland...

Video: United previews Ocean City

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:00:03 -0500

Tomorrow night at the Maryland SoccerPlex, United takes on the Ocean City Barons in its first official game in U.S. Open Cup play. On June 16, the PDL Barons (the equivilant fourth division in the U.S.) defeated Real Maryland 1-0 on a penalty kick in extra time. Knowing little about their opponent, United's players discussed Tuesday's game and defending last year's Open Cup title.

Video: United discusses U.S. win over Spain

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:19:29 -0500

Following the United State's 2-0 win over Spain on Wednesday, we sat down with some of the guys to get their thoughts on the game and the magnitude of the result.

Video: Santino Quaranta on USMNT call-up

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:17:46 -0500

Santino Quaranta discusses his call-up to the U.S. Men's National Team for this summer's Gold Cup tournament. Tino may have a chance to play in his home stadium when the U.S. takes on Honduras at RFK Stadium on July 8.

This is Tino's first call-up since 2006.

Children's Hospital Visit

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:12:35 -0500

D.C. United players and staff recently visited patients at the Children's National Medical Center as part of the team's community inititative, United Builds. To see more photos of community events, visit United's flickr page.

Real Madrid sales still going strong

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:46:58 -0500

Sales continue to roll in for United's huge international friendly with Real Madrid August 9. Nearly 35,000 seats have sold already and the phones on East Capitol Street continue to ring.

If you're looking to buy individual tickets in the lower level, you're too late. The good news is that seating remains available in these prime locations by purchasing the International 4-Pack or a Two-game group plan. United plan holders also have access to reserved seating in these areas.

Club level seating is rapidly selling, as well. Sideline seats in the club level are no longer available to the general public, though seats in the corners and behind the goals remain available.

Quality seats remain for purchase in the upper level at FedExField. Priority seating is available to those purchasing 4-Pack plans or the two-game group package. However, great seats are also available for individual game sale.

Whew!

There's a lot of buzz about this game. There are a lot of tickets already sold. Get your friends together and act now for the best possible seats to the hottest ticket of the summer.

MLS game #16: United 0 - Colorado 3

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:58:16 -0500

Not the best of games for United, huh? D.C. has not won at Colorado since back in 2000. United's record now drops to 5-3-8 (23 pts.) after the midpoint of the 2009 season.

The team will now have a few days off (well-deserved after three games in eight days) and return to training on Thursday. United is off from League play until July 4 when the team travels to Columbus to face the Crew, but will begin the defense of the U.S. Open Cup title. On June 30, the Black-and-Red will face the Ocean City Barons (PDL) in a third-round Open Cup matchup at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

Here are your post-game links:

Injuries, tiredness catch up to United by Pat Rooney

Post-game quotes