DC United have played 16 matches. As of now, they have a 4-5-7 record with 19 points. United have already passed their 2010 season total of 21 goals (they have 23) which shows the drastic improvement the offense has made. The defense is still finding its way, but they should not be considered a major concern anymore. If they can keep the core group together (Kitchen, White, Jakovic, Korb, and McDonald), then the defense will be just fine.
Improvement is a factor for the rest of the year. If the season ended today, DC United would not be in the playoffs (which is one of the organization’s goal for this year). If that is to chance, two things must happen for DC. First, DC has to finish the year with more wins than losses. Right now, they have four wins and five losses. At the end of the year, they need about five more wins than losses on their record. The other goal for United is to finish the season with a positive goal differential. Start scoring more and conceding less. That will result in more wins and less draws and defeats. If DC can do those two things, the playoffs will be a reality. Now, onto my mid-season awards.
Most Valuable Player: Josh Wolff
With all the young guns DC has, Wolff has been the veteran leader that United hoped he would be. He’s also provided a spark for the offense with four goals and four assists. I questioned picking him above players like Angel in the re-entry draft earlier this year, but now I’m glad that DC picked him.
Rookie of the Year: Blake Brettschneider
Most people may point out that Perry Kitchen is the best rookie we have, and I would agree, but Perry is doing exactly what fans expected. Brettschneider has turned heads since preseason and has impressed everyone.
Offensive Player of the Year: Charlie Davies
Hate him if you want, but Davies is DC’s leading scorer with 8 goals (the 2010 top scorers had just 5 last year), and is creating chances which is exactly what forwards are supposed to do.
Defensive Player of the Year: Perry Kitchen
I thought about this one for awhile, but Kitchen seems to be the most solid defensive player that DC has on the backline. He’s played in 13 matches (starting 12) and has been pretty good this year. He’s had a few mishaps along the way, but it happens. The kid is 19 years old. I think fans can expect some great things for the second half of the season.
Overall, it has been a much better season for DC, but they still have some unfinished business this year. The playoffs are definitely a possibility, especially with the addition of Dwayne De Rosario. How he does at DC will determine whether DC makes the playoffs. He’s started to mesh with the other players and fit in off the field. DC fans hope that it will continue on the field as well. If De Rosario continues to play like he did for Toronto and Houston, DC will be a playoff team this year and I think that chance is pretty good since the Eastern Conference is separated by only 11 points from first to last place.
End of the year prediction:
2nd or 3rd place in Eastern Conference. Advance to second round of playoffs.
(image courtesy of dcunited.com)
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