DC United played Lynn University yesterday at 2:30pm. Does anyone know the result? Thanks in advance. ps-Lynn University is where Ivan McKinley went to school. It was called the College of Boca Raton back when Ivan went there. Ivan
Earnie in goal! Lots of niggling injuries. Weather related problems. When does this season start???? John
And Earnie posts a shutout, no less! Hudson likes his players to be versatile, so that should help Earnie lock down one of those 18 senior roster spots!!!
you know when the dutch talk about guys having to play every position, i didn't know they meant keeper too! i bet johnny rep or cruyff never played goal!
Great report at DCU (link above). Several things jump out at me. 1. Great practical joke (by Hristo) on Kovalenko. That's exactly the sort of thing that will help build team comradarie and spirit! 2. Wow-the Joseph Devidze trip to get to camp is quite a story! Sounds like a very devoted player (taking the bus from NYC to Florida for 19 hours). I hope he's good enough that it was worth for him to take a trip like that. 3. Info on other invitees: Jose Gomez played 2 years with the Charlotte Eagles. He had 5 goals and 7 assists last year. I don't think he's a particularly big player (5'7" if I'm remembering the right Jose Gomez) and played college ball at Liberty University I think. Eric Ozimek was originally from Davidson, was part of the USA U-17 and U-20 pool, is a midfield, was drafted by San Jose in the 4th round last year and was cut and went to the A-league.
Actually Ozimek was originally with the University of Maryalnd his first two years in college but wasn't seeing the field and tranfered to Davidson and did well. He was injuried last season but was on Portland's roster in the A League.
It also says Alecko Eskandarian is day to day with a bad toe, Swan's got a sprained ankle, and so it begins, our future, in the tradition of moreno, and olsen, those nagging ever present injures. that's great. It's over. NNNOOOO...
I'm going to go on record now as saying that I do not like putting Stewart in goal, even for a meaningless pre-season friendly. When a team (DC United) has a history (2000, 2001, 2002) of being hampered by injuries to top salaried players (Olsen, Etch, Moreno, etc.) they shouldn't go out of their way to put a guy in a new risk situation. Keepers rarely get injured, but they're trained to know how to avoid it. I can see an older player like Stewart twisting a knee or ankle trying to stop a shot. If we're going to be without a real keeper, let Trask play it, not Stewart. Yes I realize that Lynn probably had almost no shots on goal, but the potential is still there. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. That said, I noticed that the players praised were defenders Stokes and Namoff. I doubt that the caliber of Lynn University is even close to the competition that Stokes saw daily in the ACC, or Namoff saw in DC United practices, games or even Richmond Kickers. So I would expect them to do well. But I wonder where Namoff played? Was he on the back line (I hope not) or in midfield? Scrimmaging is good, even if the opponents are not challenging. It helps to get accustomed to making the correct runs, covering for one another defensively, and timing passes. I am very happy to see DC United providing so many training/scrimmage reports, particularly the away ones that Diceson cannot get to. Kudos DCU! -Tron
Always hated keeper myself as I'd always played so sort of attacking player, but never will forget one time I had to play keeper. A guy (who's now actually one of DC's sideline ushers for the photography guys) smacked his head on the post diving for a shot and I had to play goalie for him in an emergency. Yes, it did suck and I felt stupid every minute of it, but I must say, to this day I've never forgot the lessons I learned that day. Not only that, but after all, this is a game and if the boys can't get a few jollys then what's the point? MMore power to Earnie is all I can say.
Tron, I agree to an extent with you. However I'd much rather see a field player making an ass of himself in goal than a goalie trying to play in the field. Ask Tony Meola about this one.
I totally agree with you Tron. Remember the Emerson story from the World Cup? He was goofing around saving shots and ended up dislocating his shoulder and missed the entire tournament. 2nd weirdest pre-World Cup injury, the weirdest being Santiago "I dropped a bottle of cologne and cut my foot" Canizares. I can't believe we're letting one of our most important players fool around in goal.
I also agree with Tron...I believe I read that Hristo was serving as "head coach" for the scrimmage...this may explain why Earnie was allowed to play in goal...chest hair display! John
actually i am going to disagree with you guys on this one for a couple of reasons. 1. it is more likely to get injured in the field than the goal. i'd be more worried about some college boy arriving late for a tackle than some pile up in front of the goal. 2. stewart is a vet. he knows when to lay it down and when to let it go. he has massive control as a player and a lot of sense, i'd doubt he'd put himself in too bad a spot. 3. during training it is sometimes good to mix things up, etc. i'd say "soccer tennis" for example is more likely to cause an injury than playing in goal. sometimes, especially in a trainning camp setting, you need to do some different things to keep it going.
Dtron, I usually agree with you on most stuff but I've got to go with Red and Black on this one. Earnie is more likely to get injured in a field position than in goal (just ask Swann about that!). Also, what do you mean by "has a history of being hampered by injuries to high salaried players..." you're making it sound like you're superstitious or that there is a hex on the franchise. Bah! First thing I thought when I saw that Earnie volunteered to play goal is "wow--talk about good leadership!" Here's my thinking. All the "marginal" players and rookies are fighting for PT and to impress. It would be so consistent for most teams to tell Stokes "get in and play goal" or tell Namoff to put on the gloves. And what is the message that those guys get from that? That they aren't valued? That the stars come first? That they don't really have a shot? DCU held out a lot of players from this scrimmage b/c of little hurts and nicks--so the team isn't pushing the edge of the envelope here. But by Earnie volunteering to play goal, I think it meant one of the youngsters (like Namoff or Stokes) didn't end up in goal, he sent a very subtle message (which has got to have some impact with Etcheverry and Stoichkov) that "I don't care how much money anyone makes, none of us is any better than anyone else--and the true leaders of this team step up when needed, they do the dirty work, they run harder, they make it easier for the younger, weaker players." Okay--it was only one simple scrimmage (not even for 90 minutes). But I've got to bet, absolutely bet, that Earnie Stewart is sending that message with every action he takes, every move he makes, every word he utters. And I've got to believe that everyone else either concsciouly or unconsciously gets the message.