United-Crew Grades [R]

[albionroad]

Post your grades here. Averages will be calculated and posted on monday.

Rimando
Ivanov
Petke
Prideaux
Olsen
Namoff
Alegria
Etcheverry
Kovalenko
Stoitchkov
Curtis

Eskandarian
Quaranta

[greatscott]

again, i didnt get to see the match therefore i have not very much room to vote. I will make one vote and vote only.
Escandarian:9 (highest grade) two goals in 20 minutes as a rookie sub deserves all the respect he can get.

[Detective40oz]

Rimando - 7 Free kick save should end up on a poster
Ivanov - 7 shut down West very well, especially on the break..great passing out of the back
Petke - 7 took control of the middle..great goal
Prideaux - 6.5 solid
Olsen - 6 better than last few performances
Namoff - 5.5 simple effective distribution
Alegria - 5 good work effort..still too predictable with the back passes
Etcheverry - 6.5 2 assists
Kovalenko - 5.5 could have done better with some of his chances..but very active and disrupted quite a few C-bus attacks
Stoitchkov - 6..cross ont he called back goal was great..held the ball up well for the midfield to catch up to forwards.
Curtis - 7 Our best and most in form forward right now

Eskandarian - 7 bout time you showed us something :)
Quaranta - NR nice back heel..otherwise not in long enough to give a proper rating.

[Red&Black]

Rimando 6
Ivanov 6
Petke 7
Prideaux 8
Olsen 6
Namoff 6
Alegria 4
Etcheverry 6
Kovalenko 6
Stoitchkov 5
Curtis 7

Eskandarian 6
Quaranta nr (but that backheel was tasty)

crowd--9 (sounded like the old days in 135)
ref--4

[shawn12011]

Rimando 6.5
Ivanov 5
Petke 6
Prideaux 6.5
Olsen 6
Namoff 6
Alegria 5.5
Etcheverry 6
Kovalenko 6
Stoitchkov 6
Curtis 6

Eskandarian 7 MOTM
Quaranta 5

[Mountainia]

Rimando:6 - Great save, picked off some crosses, not much else to do
Ivanov: 6.5 - Didn't miss a tackle, brought the ball up well
Petke: 7 - Controlled the middle, Golazo!
Prideaux: 7 - A rock in the back, took part in several attacks
Olsen: 6.5 - Building confidence throughout the game, took people on
Namoff: 6 Kept possession well
Alegria: 5.5 His best game yet
Etcheverry: 7 Passes were creating chances all night, 2 assists
Kovalenko: 5.5 Was everywhere, broke up Col attacks
Stoitchkov: 6 Threatened all night, kept Col defense on heels
Curtis: 6.5 Had a goal (called back unfairly) Very aggressive

Eskandarian: 7.5 - Best 20 minute sub I've seen in years, great positioning, 2 goals
Quaranta: 6 - Not much time, but got a nice assist

[CHICO13]

Rimando 5.5
Ivanov 5.5
Petke 6.5
Prideaux 6
Olsen 5.5
Namoff 6
Alegria 6
Etcheverry 7
Kovalenko 6.5
Stoitchkov 7
Curtis 7
Eskandarian 7.5
Quaranta 5.5

[greatscott]

Well I think it is safe to say that Alecko is now the official SuperSub of DC United.

[DCU]

Rimando 6
Ivanov 6.5
Petke 6.5
Prideaux 6.5
Olsen 7.5
Namoff 6.5
Alegria 4
Etcheverry 4
Kovalenko 4.5
Stoitchkov 3.5
Curtis 6.5

Eskandarian 8
Quaranta 6.5

Etch and Hristo will get praise for their performances today. Neither of them deserves it. The Cows stanks. Olsen and Namoff held our midfield together.

[Funkfoot]

Rimando 6
Ivanov 6
Petke 6.5
Prideaux 6.5
Olsen 7
Namoff 6.5
Alegria 6
Etcheverry 6.5
Kovalenko 5.5
Stoitchkov 6
Curtis 7

Eskandarian 7
Quaranta 6

[GUTuna]

Rimando 6
Ivanov 5.5
Petke 7
Prideaux 7
Olsen 6.5
Namoff 6.5
Alegria 5
Etcheverry 6
Kovalenko 6
Stoitchkov 6
Curtis 7 (MOTM if his goal had counted. He, again, was wonderful at home)

Eskandarian 7.5 (MOTM)
Quaranta 6

[Serie Zed]

Rimando - 5.5
Ivanov - 5.5
Petke - 6
Prideaux - 6
Olsen - 5
Namoff - 5
Alegria - 6
Etcheverry - 5.5
Kovalenko - 4.5
Stoitchkov - 5.5
Curtis - 6.5

Eskandarian - 6
Quaranta - 5.5

[Nogra Rover]

Rimando 6.5
Ivanov 6.5
Petke 7
Prideaux 6
Olsen 6
Namoff 6
Alegria 6
Etcheverry 6.5
Kovalenko 6
Stoitchkov 6
Curtis 6.5

Eskandarian 7
Quaranta NR

[EdTheRed]

Rimando 6.5 - Not a busy night, but came up big when he had to. A bonus .5 for the third straight shutout.
Ivanov 7.0 The hair-chested one's best performance yet.
Petke 8.0 MOTM Saw the game at RFK, then watched the FSW production. The tv version of the match didn't do justice to just how solid Petke (and Ivanov and Prideaux, for that matter) was on D. Marked McBride out of every Columbus set piece. Plus the match-winning goal. Can't ask for much more from a defender.
Prideaux 7.0
Olsen 6.5 Benny is starting to look like a playa again.
Namoff 6
Alegria 6
Etcheverry 6.5
Kovalenko 6
Stoitchkov 6
Curtis 6.5

Eskandarian 8.0 About as good a 20 minutes as you can ever expect to see from a rookie sub.
Quaranta NR Kudos for that sweet assist.

[CrazyDCFan]

Rimando: 8 great save, three straight shutouts.
Ivanov: 7 pretty average game, still helped d.
Petke: 8 great goal great d
Prideaux: 7
Olsen:7
Namoff:7
Alegria:7
Etcheverry: 8 what an assist, actually ran around
Kovalenko: 7
Stoitchkov:6 he is too old and it showed last nite
Curtis: 8 run run run run run, will he ever stop?

Eskandarian: 8 congrats AE
Quaranta: 7 ooooo nice pass wowwww ooooooo

[MikeLastort2]

Rimando - 7
Ivanov - 6
Petke -7
Prideaux - 6
Olsen - 6
Namoff - 6
Alegria - 5
Etcheverry - 6.5
Kovalenko - 6
Stoitchkov -6
Curtis - 6.5

Eskandarian - 8
Quaranta - 6

[SoccerEsq]

Rimando - 7.5
Ivanov - 6
Petke - 8
Prideaux - 6
Olsen - 6.5
Namoff - 5.5
Alegria - 6
Etcheverry - 6.5
Kovalenko - 6
Stoitchkov - 5
Curtis - 7

Eskandarian - 8
Quaranta - 6

5 average for MLS
6/4 above/below average for MLS
7/3 one of the best/worst of a week for MLS
8/3 one of the best/worst of a month for MLS
9/2 one of the best/worst of a season for MLS
10/1 one of the best/worst ever for MLS

[nick]

Gang,

While United played well lets not go overboard. When we lose we are the worst team ever and now when we win we are supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread??????

Its important to put the game in perspective. First, DCU has an excellent defense compared to any team in MLS. They have been that way pretty much all season. United also has a very good midfield that has been inconsistent. Despite the three goals on Saturday night United is still suspect at forward. It will take more than one or two games to put that to bed.

Columbus was pretty flat on Saturday. It was no where close to their best effort and much of their creative energy in Cunningham, Martino and Hedjuk was missing.

United needs to show way more consistancy up top before we start creating a bandwagon. I have to say I'm very pleased with Curtis's effort, something that has been lacking up front, but he hasn't shown the instincts of a deadly finisher. Eskandarian scored his goals after Columbus had removed Torres and went with an extra attacker opening up lots of space in the back. Again, a ton of credit to Aleko, he took his chances well, but keep it in context.

Having said that here are my grades:

Rimando 5 Had a couple of good saves but he was not severly tested.
Ivanov 5.5 Very solid in the back. Good distribution. A terrific touch on the ball and he seems more comfortable with each game.
Petke 6 He may not be Eddie, but he's probably a better value. Very nice goal. Stepped up his game to cover for Nelsen.
Prideaux 6 Very underrated, steady defender. Has controlled his area all year.
Olsen 5.5 Good, solid effort. High work rate. Makes himself available.
Namoff 4.5 Did not make any glaring mistakes. Played within himself. Kept the ball moving.
Alegria 4.5 Similar to Namoff but slower and less creative if that's possible. Like Namoff avoided mistakes. Constantly passed back.
Etcheverry 5.5 Not the dominant force of years past but a good effort. Can still create problems for team in the penalty area when he forces the issue. Also effective with dead balls. However, his lack of speed limits United's ability to play a quick transisiton game.
Kovalenko 5.5 Useful solid game. Busy, always involved with the play.
Stoitchkov 5 Best skills ever played in a closet area space. His skills are still there but his range of movement is lacking. I marvel at his pin point 60 yard balls but having two players of limited mobility on the field at the same time is too much.
Curtis 6 Has shown some real bite to his game. Unlike last year can hold the ball with his back to the goal. He also has some urgency and vigor in his attacks on goal.

Eskandarian 5.5 Camly laid in both goals, neither of which were difficult. Had mixed success in connecting with other forwards or the midfield.

Quaranta NR. A nifty back pass to Eskandarian, but little else in his limited minutes. He needs to get healthy and start contibuting in proportion to his ability.

[SoccerEsq]

Originally posted by nick
Gang,

While United played well lets not go overboard. When we lose we are the worst team ever and now when we win we are supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread??????

nick, can you elaborate on your scale? What do your numbers mean?

[CrewToon]

You forgot to list the Crew grades:

Entire team: 0