Ben Olsen has 3 goals this year. All 3 goals have been game-winners, and 2 of them are in the last 2 games. Can we change his name to Mr. *@#*@#*@#*@#*@#*@#ing Clutch or something? My team had a game tonight so I couldn't watch the game, can't wait to hear from everyone who was at RFK for this one. The other matches went OK for us tonight, as well. Even though we're the same number of points ahead of Columbus and New England, we're 3 closer to New York now and potentially Chicago as well, and our game in hand from earlier remains intact.
Does anyone else find it weird that all 3 of the game winning goals tonight were scored in the 81st minute of their respective games?
Am I mistaken, or isn't United undefeated and untied all-time when Olsen scores? It's like 15-0-0 now or something. I thought I saw that graphic a couple weeks ago. (That of course includes MLS Cup '99 )
The boys really came out at the start and played hard. San Jose didn't pressure as much as I expected, and the extra time and space really hurt them. I think some of it may have been caused by a few really good balls through tight spaces early, which caused them to back off a bit. They came back with the pressure in the second half to get the equalizer, but Ben put the dagger in them with the goal. All in all a good effort from the men in black. Cerritos was my MOTM, but I can certainly see someone picking Olsen, Stewart, or any of the back 4 as well.
Time for Doctor Dipstick's Second Post Brilliant game! I must admit, I thought we were a bit off in the last 15' or so of the second half, however... Wow, great chemistry between Stewart and Cerritos - and Q2 and Olsen, too. Damn, DC looks like a team on a mission, doesn't it? A few poor plays, and a couple of tense moments, but we had a great outing and now we're 1 point away from the scum. This team is (as I said a few weeks ago, only in hope, but now I'm certain) PEAKING AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME. BTW: Dr. Dipstick had to changes his S%&t-stained diaper...
Re: Hudson vs Stoichkov? I believe he said "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" Pure Comedy. And lest we forget Rongen refering to Hudsons quote about Quintanilla and hair growing on a certain part of his anatomy.
I woke up and burned my fingers on a very hot plate, jammed my toe going to take a shower, and had to mow lawns and go to work. I came hom and turned the t.v. on right before Olsen's goal. That game put a on my face after a *@#*@#*@#*@#*@#*@# day. Now its time to watch the whole tape. And since I'm sure you've all been wondering where I am , this comp has been doing very badly, so I can't post very often at all. Great win by the team! D.C. united!
How sweet it is! RFK was rocking like the glory years at the end. Everyone and their grandmother stayed until the final whistle. Did anybody say mometum!
Re: Re: Hudson vs Stoichkov? Stoich and Etch were giving the 4th official some lip. Etch started and Ray tried to calm him down. Then Stoich chimes in and Ray loses it. How Ray deals with both of these "personalities" I haven't a clue. After the outburst he turned to the crowd and proceeded to pull the hair from his head. Not the kind of stuff we should be seeing on the sideline. I yearn for the day when both Stoich are Etch are gone. As for the rest of the game, Convey needs to improve desperately and it would have been nice if Ray put some fresh legs on the field toward the end. He only used one sub and the team was struggling.
I was behind the bench and saw Hudson blow his gasket about Stoitchkov. Hudson had Etcheverry standing next to him on his right and Stoitchkov on his left. He stood up and turned to face Stoitchkov and yelled at him. Really bizarre. After that Etcheverry went and sat down on the bench. Looked like too many cooks to me. Actually between Stoitchkov, Hudson, Trask and Richie Burke, there are a lot of coaches on that team. And that's not counting Etcheverry. Great night at RFK. The stands were jumping. Everyone really got into cheering toward the end of the game. DC came out on fire and only some great reaction saves by Onstad kept the score respectable for San Jose. Stewart and Cerritos set each up other well, repeatedly. Cerritos does a nice job holding and controlling the ball to wait for numbers to get into the offensive end, but at other times sprung Convey. I really like how Cerritos plays. He's a very good addition to this team. DC has a lot of weapons and they're starting to use them. I still think Hudson should have used some subs. I was surprised he left Quintanilla in after he picked up the yellow card. Also, during some of the breaks Olsen was leaning forward with his hands on his knees. That's the sign of a tired player. And Olsen went down on the field once with apparent cramps. Hudson had two subs to use, and time to kill, but he didn't. Fortunately it didn't matter. The defense played well, but there were times when Hudson was really yelling at Ivanov. Stoitchkov did too, and Ivanov gave them a dismissive wave. Prideaux is playing some of his best soccer now. Nelson and Petke were really solid. And Dema did a nice job at least in the first half of linking the defense and offense together. This team is fun to watch now. For those who stayed home, you missed a great night and a great game.
Thanks for rubbing it in. I stayed home with my wife who wasn't feeling well. But I watched on tv. Great game
DCU on a roll. I only saw bits and pieces of the match on Comcast as it was Mrs. Adler's and my 6th anniversary. Priorities. Seemed to me like a Tale of Two Halves. For the first 10 minutes it was like I was watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: "Who are those guys ?" Crisp passing in the midfield, set-up passes to the forwards being right on the money, everyone swarming in the area like bees. Heck, even the 40-yard homerun pass to Cerritos to set up Stewart worked-- the very thing that DCU overdid with Ali. Amazing. The Quacks were lucky to have only given up a single goal. Then the 2nd half. Looked like a 45-minute Bunker drill. Either that or SJ got a helluva talking-to at halftime. I'll await the verdicts of those in the North End and the Nest who saw the whole match and in person. Congrats DCU ! Anyone else get the feeling that the USOC (if nothing else) is a very real possibility now ?
Not only that, but if we are half way decent in the upcoming war against the scum, It wouldn't be too farfetched to put us down as darkhorses for the MLS Cup.
What a great game. I brought 6 people to today's game: 2 newbies, 2 regulars, my wife, and a soccer player who hardly ever goes to games. What a good game for them to see. Everyone thought that the game was exciting and had lots of fun. Stewart and Cerritos work well together. Prideaux had a good game. Etcheverry was playing very well until he was hurt. But DC is a team with the talent well spread around, so that will make them hard to stop if they can just keep scoring. I really liked the 4 shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. We've had entire games without that many SOG. You can see what happens when you pull the trigger with Benny's 2nd half winner. There were a few times earlier when we missed good chances to shoot. San Jose controlled the ball from about 15' thru the 80th, but our backs were well organized, and the counter attack was looking dangerous. However, you could see a few times what we are missing without Curtis's speed. But I think the results of Stewart and Cerritos more than make up for the lack of speed. We may not be the best team, but with the right attitude, this team can win any game on any given day. I'm looking forward to the finish, and I will be at every home game. See you all there!
I knew it was going to be a special game when Etch took the opening kickoff and passed it forward WITH HIS RIGHT FOOT! I've never seen DCU be more aggressive than they were for the first 20 minutes or so. They were bringing it! Nelson seemed to leap about 8 feet in the air to drive a header to Onstad's feet that could easily have been a goal. We were on frame from the beginning but SJ didn't even have a shot until, I think, the 36th minute. After that, SJ pulled themselves together and began to look dangerous. Kudos to our back four, as well as Benny, Q2 (he's still Q2, both alphabetically and because Santino was here first), and Dema. I agree, though, that Hudson should have used his remaining subs. Q2 was down three times with knocks and was carrying a yellow and Prideaux was limping noticeably late in the match. Good thinking on Ray's part to sub Etch BEFORE he was gassed. I, too, think the SJ goal may have been offside. I think that's what got Petke so excersised (he got a yellow for dissent soon afterward). Cerritos' play should quiet anyone who thought that Ali should have stayed. I loved the guy for his grit and spirit, but Cerritos simply has more to work with than sheer speed.
Great game! I made it out to the stadium, complete with my Hannibal Lecter-style nose cast. Had to spend the match sitting in Nest-Lite to avoid passing out from general wooziness, but I probably saw more of the game than I normally do. Mrs. EdTheRed made a rare appearance as well, and had a great time. Anyways, Petke's yellow for dissent was one of the sweetest I've ever seen. He went after the linesman like a madman after the botched no-call on the SJ goal, and then Ben scores about fifteen seconds later while Petke is at the midfield stripe. As soon as the ball hits the back of the net, Petke runs right at the linesman and just starts going at him again, apparently with words to the effect of "in your mother-[expletive] face!" The card was quick to follow. The entire back four had a monster of a game, and if it weren't for the one botched call (though those things do happen, especially when you give up that much possession to a team as good as San Jose), I think our cattenaccio would have held. Oh, and Cerritos and Stewart are going to be tearing it up from here on out.
Terrific game. Here's hoping DC can keep it up. Wanted to see the new guy, but that would not have made too much sense in this match. The defense was great. Really, few mistakes up and down the field, though I expected to see a substitution after Olsen's goal.