And Mexico goes down to Honduras

What a day

Bobby only a 4? I didn't think he played that bad and did pretty well against Angel.

Olsen should have done more with his last opportunity (other than a back pass to nobody) but at that point ohh well.

We also need to watch out on these quick back goals we keep giving up. You can't take a 5 min rest after you score.

Not bad on my earlier rankings huh? I wasn't that inspired by the defense, but I can see why higher marks were up there.

Anyone see the Mexico-Honduras game? Blanco gets a red for throwing an elbow early in the second half and then Honduras gets two late by a guy named Carlos Costly to win 2-1! Love it. And yes, at least in the second half, Honduras was the better team. Didn't see the first half ... but wow.

Just what Blanco can do to help you and hurt you, all in one game. And I think Costly's going to move up, or at least get looks from other leagues.

Great 24 Hours -- U.S. and DCU get good, convincing wins, and Mexico and the Red Bulls lose. It's great when all your teams win like this, huh?

Ben Olsen for president!!!

The passion was there, the pride was there. congrats to Benny, the hardest worker of them all generally, he deserved it. Everybody else fought hard, and I'm glad to see the newbies Emilio and Fred realize how important it is for us to beat red bull. Lets hope they get a chance to start a new tradition and take Chicago to the woodshed.

Hi Juan Mastadon :D

Mastadon Juan, rather

Either way: Booyah.

it's hard to get more than a 4 if you get red carded out of the match before the 80th minute

Who does Brian Hall work for?

Olsen (duh), Erpen, Fred and Emilio were excellent.

So how many goals does a guy have to score before you rate him a 10? Olsen...hat-trick on the day...can't be a nine.

Here's a pic of Nelly Furtado in a DCU jersey thanks to info. leafblower:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leafblower/539380909/in/set-72157600334889065/

Perkins 6; Namoff 6, Erpen 6, Boswell 4, Gros 6; Olsen 9, Carroll 6, Fred 7, Gomez 7; Moreno 7, Emilio 7. Subs: Moose 6, McTavish 6, Burch no rating.

quite frankly, i think olsen turned it up to eleven today.
perkins couldn't do anything on the goals against, but otherwise did what was demanded of him in the eighteen; i think a 6 is underselling him.
and i really wasn't impressed with moose when he came on. he fell asleep while marking angel (c'mon) and he seemed confused on the attack, not effectively killing time with simple possession, but nor was he taking risks when he had one-on-one situations. he just ran around making mediocre to bad passes. 6 seems too kind.

despite a decent performance today, i have to ask: will moreno ever score in the run of play this season?

Wow. Whataday.

Goffinho, the bonus quotes are to die for...particularly Olsen's dog comment coupled with Soehn's comment on Emilio warming up. Here's to Luciano turning it on in the next few weeks.

VAMOS UNITED!!!!!

Thanks for the Furtado photo link!

Boswell lucky to even get a 4 -- that first yellow was reckless (as he admits) and he put himself in a tight spot. Red card is a red card.

Olsen does not get a 10. Almost impossible to get a 10 on my scale. Maybe a hat trick in the World Cup final...

:-)

Be careful what you wish for in regards of that Mexico result. We just might face Mexico in the quarterfinals if they get a draw against Panama.

The US will play either the third place team from Group A or Group C.

I think the fans deserve a 10. I could not hear a thing all game long. Was definitely the best atmosphere all season long. RFK needs to continue selling beer for the full 90 minutes. That is my only complaint of the day. Also, Red Bull fans have to be the worst in the world. Nor origniality and no passion. Anyone want to bet that they do not make the playoffs???

Easily the best game we've played since July. Nice to see Jaime run hard the whole game and what a huge difference it made - Ben wasn't lying when he said that's what gave him room. Nice combos from Gomez, Fred and Lucio. I'd love to see this team to stay this creative for the whole year. Maybe we can ask all visiting teams to wear Red Bull jerseys?

Any word on why Nelly Furtado wanted a United jersey (besides the fact that maybe she knows the game, and knows who the best is)? Isn't she from Toronto? Kudos to her for wearing it, it fits her well. Next time she should sing the anthem.

Did I ever tell you about the time Olsen was in a production of "The King & I?" On opening night, Olsen chloroforms the entire cast and slowly eats them in front of the audience for two hours. The production got pretty good reviews.

A couple of folks have mentioned this already, but NY could have come on the field with brass knuckles and switchblades and still not get a card. Otherwise, they were bad, despite the help we gave them.

Always nice to see Mexico lose. Nicer if Blanco get 2 or 3 matches off.

Furtado is from Victoria, BC, hence my comment on the other thread that I'm glad she picked us over the Whitecaps. No, I'm not a Nelly Furtado fan, I heard it on NPR.

I have to disagree with Longfellow, although I am a Perkins fan, when he says, "perkins couldn't do anything on the goals against, but otherwise did what was demanded of him in the eighteen."

Agreed, he couldn't do anything on the goals against him, but Troy continues to have distribution problems, serious distribution problems. He shanked a couple out of bounds, and otherwise wasn't all that hot with his feet.

He needs to work on that. On the other hand, his control of his box and the air was, as usual, very, very strong. What a relief after Nick.

The good news is, I suspect he'll continue to work on those distribution problems, and will only get better.

One more thing: if Benny's third goal is not goal of the week, then all of you aren't prioritizing your use of company resources.

What's a brother gotta do to earn a 10??

What's it called when a hatrick is scored with right foot, left foot and head...cause I think that's what Benny did.

Right on! What a nice soft lay for him to strike though . . my mouth was watering waiting for that to fall.

""One more thing: if Benny's third goal is not goal of the week, then all of you aren't prioritizing your use of company resources.""

Nivo,

Believe that's called a "natural" or "true" hat trick. And yeah, that's what Benji did.

Novak looks like he made the better decision than Arena, regarding keeping Kovalenko on a team. It looks like Dema finished his prime years with us.

And Mathis . . . some actor out there should start gaining 30 pounds now to play the role in "Raging Clint."

I think I've seen almost every United game since Olsen was a rookie in 98, and I'm pretty sure that was his best game ever in a united jersey. He looked young and quick like the early years, and finished like you would expect Emilio to. He deserves all the credit bc he played a complete match...

it's funny how soccer works - a few weeks ago Erpen was public enemy no. 1 and today he had probably his best game in over a year. it'll be interesting to see what DC does on defense next week with Boswell out with a red card suspension, and also it might very well be a preview for his potential absences during Copa America. I'd like to see Benny get called up for some games in South America. If Steve Ralston is starting for the USMNT then Benny should get a shot...

Goffer, you need to write articles more often about DC United's offensive woes :)

Olsen / Goffer 2008 !!!

Wow. I hope Goff writes an article about our stale offensive production every week.

Understand, DCU fans?

On goal of the week... Don't get me wrong people, I love Benny in general and I simply adore him today, but to be fair, just, give credit where it's due, etc... goal of the week has got to be LA's lone goal in Dallas. A lot of recent goals of the week have been about "raw power" blasts, but the true beauty is like that LA's goal. Now we need our boys to outdo them - today they showed that they can.

Not to take anything away from Olsen's accomplishment, but...

No love for Fred or Emilio in any of the local TV news summaries. They all -- Channel 4, 5, 7, 9 and even Comcast, which broadcast the game -- highlighted Olsen's hat trick, but Channel 9 was the only one to even MENTION Emilio's goal.

I mean, heck, the guy's been in a goal drought for how long?

FSC's Fox Soccer Channel and the Spanish news summaries showed all the goals, of course...

Like I said, Olsen did a great job -- I'll probably wind up buying an Olsen one as my first "name" DCU jersey.

which midfielder out there today is making $1.5 million in salary annually? I couldn't really tell

Well, that was certainly a step in the right direction! You know you're having a good day when you score two shorthanded goals. A few miscellaneous thoughts:
1) I like Goff's tough rating scale, 10's should be reserved for only the most absolute stellar of performances
2) I thought there were a number of opportunities to feed Fred out on the wing around midfield where he was ready to break forward but that didn't happen. He's fast, sure wish we'd given him a couple of those
3) Erpen plays better on the interior, in part because his lack of speed isn't as much of a factor there
4) I have to disagree w/ Longfellow, I thought Moose showed us some good stuff when he came in.
5) I thought John Wilson's play was pretty terrific last year before he went down. No one seems too excited about his upcoming return but if he's made a full recovery he may be a real asset for the team
6) Point of accuracy, in your story Goff you credited Gomez & Fred w/ 2 assists each, as you correctly noted above, Gros had the assist on Olsens's header

I couldn't agree more about John Wilson. He will do a great job for us as I believe he has in the past.
I do disagree with the assessment of Fred's speed. They sprung him loose a couple of times and he kept getting beat to the ball by a defender. The pass to Emilio was a bit trickier than I originally thought and he did very well with it.
A great game to see and a great atmoshere to be in.

Can't really say much more about the game than everyone else has. Just fantastic to watch. Some random stuff, though.

- Was really happy to see the whipping boys of our squad have solid games. ErpFu, Gros and Carroll were all good, with Gros creating Ben's goal on that beautiful long curling ball and being absolutely robbed by WaterAss after a great run into the box. And he shut down Dane Richards pretty well defensively. Good for Gros.

- No mistakes from Carroll; it looks like his head is back on straight.

- Luciano Emilio's reaction to his goal gave me chills. I thought the man was about to start crying with relief. It looked like gave a lot of love to the Barra and SE when he scored. Can anyone confirm?

- The Midfield looks like it is starting to gel. Much less fighting over the same balls, errant passes and ball-watching. It looks like they're starting to understand where everyone fits in. If they continue to develop, beware MLS.

- Donde estas, Mastodon Juan?

Erik:

MLS credits up to two assists per goal. Fred set up Gros before Gros set up Olsen's first goal. Fred got an assist on the play.

Hmmm. Any chance of a Copa America call-up for Benny?

No disrespect to Ben, but I think Bradley needs to be building this team for the future. I'm not sure Boswell belongs on that team either.

I think we should all vote for Ben's goal. But Toja's goal for Dallas was a lot more difficult.

Just freaking fantastic for Benny, nice to see emilio get one as well.
fantastic just fantastic

On the third day, Ben created the Heavens and the Earth.

Because on the first two days, Ben was too busy scoring hat-tricks.

Olson could take the old-man outside MF position, currently occupied by Steve Ralston.

Juan-john

Yeah, Channel 9's Sports Plus did Nationals, Orioles, Wizards, Nascar's Rainout, Redskins, mens golf, womens golf and another Nationals story before they even got to DC United.

And then, Emilio was shown scoring while the head was yapping about Ben Olsen leading into a commercial.

Disgusting, the local coverage of soccer. A live event with a local team at home should have been in the top of the broadcast.

Thx,

Jay!

In Orlando, Fl. my family and frends saw the game in a spanish chanal. DCU have been played like early years; they have create a lot of spaces to handle very well the ball; that the way DCU Go, Go, Go.
Sunday was my happy day Mexico with his luxury super coach Mr. Sanches lost against Honduras,

Olsen and Boswell were official alternates for the Gold Cup roster, so presumably, they are under serious consideration for Copa America. Olsen's int'l experience will play a big factor in the decision-making process.

On the assists matter, indeed, MLS regularly gives multiple assists on goals.

Here is yesterday's scoring summary:

Olsen (Gros, Fred)
Emilio (Fred, Erpen)
Olsen (Carroll, Gomez)
Olsen (Moreno, Gomez)

By the way, did anyone see the bend on the ball by the T&T player at the end of the first half of the US game? I thought it had deflected at first but it was a sick shot! He had Keller diving the opposite direction.

Olsen, Olsen, Olsen.

Give Erpen, Emilio, and Gros props. If we add depth in the back, watch out.

Great for Olsen. I remember a friend saying to me earlier in the season, "poor benny, he's just never going to score".

The thing I'm most excited about is how well Fred played and that Emilio got his groove back.

Emilio took some agressive shots and was really working hard to get involved from the first minute. One day soon, he is going to get his own hat trick.

Fred, what a guy. When he and gomez and moreno and emilio start sambaing to the same rhythm, I will pitty any team we go up against, especiall if we have someone like benny who can step up when a defense has its hands full with those four fantastic players.

Somos de united, que puta va a pasar?

I was talking with Bobby B's girlfriend after the game yesterday, and she said that they were backstage before the Nelly concert on Thursday evening at the Patriot Center. They gave a Boz jersey to her and she actually wore it on stage then. So this was a one time thing - not a staged event in every city. Pretty cool.

Ben Olsen's hat trick on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOdsr0WUoYY

Jill Sorenson came into the Barra yesterday with a film crew for a summer special that COMCAST is putting together. Unfortunately they came down right during on of Hall's terrible calls. Pretty sure they're going to have to edit most of that piece.

Ben Olsen quote - "Let's be honest, [New York] got a little tired."

Wow! Kudos do our boys for driving New York in the ground while playing a man down. And major props to Benny for his absolutely brilliant performance. Oh, and did you guys notice the look on Emilio's face when he scored? Such a look of relief/happiness that I've not seen from him all year. He really got the monkey off his back there and I'll bet that he'll start heating up very soon.

Ben Olsen quote - "Let's be honest, [New York] got a little tired."

Wow! Kudos do our boys for driving New York in the ground while playing a man down. And major props to Benny for his absolutely brilliant performance. Oh, and did you guys notice the look on Emilio's face when he scored? Such a look of relief/happiness that I've not seen from him all year. He really got the monkey off his back there and I'll bet that he'll start heating up very soon.

Go vote for Olson now. And no need to worry about LA's goal...

"
Nivo,

Believe that's called a "natural" or "true" hat trick. And yeah, that's what Benji did.
"

- Goose

Actually, Ben scored a natural hat trick, i.e. three in a row.

One w/ each foot and one with the head is commonly known as a perfect hat trick.

Ben's got a one percent edge over the Houston goal, 39 to 38% with the others far behind. Lets help him get the GOTW honors that he's deserved for a long time

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