Photo Credit: Jennifer Jordan-Harrell
It is often said that misery loves company. Those that said that probably never thought of it when speaking about a football match. After two mid-week losses D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy will look to shake off their bad results with the their MLS season opener. The Galaxy will host United at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. The match will be shown live at 10:00 EST on UNiMas.
Neither side has entered 2016 with particularly pleasing results. On Tuesday D.C. United conceded a road goal early to snuff out any chance of advancing in the CONCACAF Champions League against Queretaro. Meanwhile, the Galaxy were humbled by Santos Laguna at home to the tune of 4-0.
Given these two club’s history against one another it would appear that the Galaxy would have the advantage. United have not beaten Los Galaxicos in Los Angeles since a 2-1 win in July of 2005. D.C. does have a bit of recent luck though as they were victorious in their lone meeting last season, a 1-0 victory at home.
In that match United had to rely on some wizardry by goalkeeper Bill Hamid to keep the match level. A late goal by midfielder Chris Pontius put D.C. ahead giving them three valuable points. However, things are a bit different this time around. Hamid will be out for six months with a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee and Pontius was traded to the Philadelphia Union.
The loss of those two players doesn’t just fundamentally shift how United will play against the Galaxy but also how D.C. will operate during their 2016 campaign. Since the two entered Major League Soccer (Hamid in 2010; Pontius in 2009) the two have combined for 226 starts and 23, 718 minutes. Their losses, coupled with Perry Kitchen heading off to Scottish side Hearts, has altered one of the more consistent rosters in MLS.
As opposed to directly replacing Kitchen and Pontius with players of similar styles United have opted for a bit of a philosophy shift. United brought in Marcelo Sarvas (21 starts in 2015) from the Colorado Rapids and shifted winger Nick De Leon to a center mid position. These moves coupled with the additions of Lamar Neagle (4 goals, 23 starts in 2015 with Seattle Sounders FC) and Patrick Nyarko ( 3 goals, 14 starts with Chicago Fire in 2015) should give D.C. a bit more of an attacking midfield than they have shown in recent years.
Replacing Hamid in goal for at least the first part of the season will be Andrew Dykstra. Dykstra has served as Hamid’s backup for the past two seasons making 13 starts during spot during that span. Although Dykstra does not have Hamid’s physical gifts, he has proven himself to be more than capable to get a result. Most importantly, he already has a rapport with his back four (left-back Sean Franklin, center-backs Steve Birnbaum and Bobby Boswell, and right-back Sean Franklin) having played with them for the past two seasons.
Los Angeles are also a very different side from the one that took the pitch last May. Although the team has always been known for signing players a certain quality or a certain notoriety the Galaxy have kicked it into overdrive in recent months. The additions of defender Ashley Cole, and midfielders Nigel De Jong, Steven Gerrard, and Giovani dos Santos has brought in a certain level of expectation among supporters.
What will be interesting to watch in this match is the adjustments that coaches Ben Olsen and Bruce Arena will be making to integrate their new players. With Los Angeles, look for Robbie Keane (20 goals in 22 matches in 2015) to rekindle his partnership up top with Gyassi Zardes for a third consecutive season. Although Zardes may be playing slightly out position with the Galaxy as a winger he always seems to find Keane in open space. Birnbaum and Boswell continued their late season trend of being unable to track late runs by attackers. If they do that against Zardes and Keane they will get burned.
That being said, D.C. will also have their opportunities on the attacking end. The downside to the Galaxy’s spending this offseason was that the club offloaded center-back Omar Gonzalez to Mexican side Pachuca. Jelle Van Damme, who came to the Galaxy from Belgian side Standard Liege, will partner up with A.J. De La Garza to hopefully limit the shots that new goalkeeper Dan Kennedy has to face. D.C. United forwards Fabian Espindola ( 4 goals in 15 matches in 2015) and Chris Rolfe ( 10 goals in 30 matches) have proven themselves extremely effective in recent years at preying on miscommunications and missed passes by new teammates.
Despite both teams starting the week and the season off on the wrong foot hope still springs eternal for the Galaxy and United. With both teams bringing in new exciting players and making slight shifts to pre-existing strategies these are exciting times for Washington and Los Angeles. Sunday’s match will be a good indication for what both sides need to achieve their ultimate goals at the end of the season.
