DC United scored 53 goals last season, the most for the club since 2013 (photo credit: Jennifer Jordan-Harrell)
In the movie the Wizard of Oz there is a moment where a house drops on the wicked witch of the east and suddenly the world turns from black and gray to a world of color. While no houses were dropped on any D.C. residents on Monday a stadium did indeed drop in the area. After an offseason in which the club showed a markedly different tone to their usual hands in pockets routine Monday’s announcement further cemented the notion that this is a very different D.C. United side.
Although United still have one more season at RFK Stadium make no mistake about it: this is a very important season for the club. If 2018 is supposed to be United’s big return to the main stage of American soccer then 2017 should be a very important dry run. The team that enters Audi Field next season will not be an expansion side or a team built from scratch in two months. There will be very high and real expectations.
What’s interesting though is that this club in 2017 has the chance to be pretty darn good themselves. Four years away their disastrous 2013 campaign, United coach Ben Olsen and General Manager Dave Kasper have put together a side that at least on paper stacks up well with the rest of the league. Although the club made only a few moves this offseason (adding forward Jose Guillermo Ortiz and midfielders Sebastian Le Toux and Ian Harkes) they made quite a number of moves late last season to upgrade their roster. Those moves paid off in the interim, giving United one of the most potent attacks in the league. Forward Patrick Mullins and midfielder Lloyd Sam, along with Lamar Neagle and Patrick Nyarko, gave United multiple attacking options something that played right in the hands of midfielder Luciano Acosta.
But the question is now can this club make the next step to contend for a title. Although the club has made the playoffs for the last three seasons they have struggled mightily when they get there. Last season’s defeat at the hands of the Montreal Impact exposed United’s weaknesses in the midfield and their communication issues in passing. Acosta and Marcelo Sarvas’ troubles with bookings also did not help.
Whether this team can actually break through in the Eastern Conference will largely depend upon how their midfielders and forwards fare in 2017. So with that in mind let’s take a look at three things to keep an eye on this season from both positions.
#1 Patrick Mullins, year two
There were very few players who had as good of a second half in MLS last season as that of Mullins. The former University of Maryland product scored eight goals for United last season after making the jump from NYCFC in July. Mullins instantly became the focal point of D.C.’s scoring efforts, linking up with Acosta, Nyarko, and Sam on some exceptional goal-scoring opportunities. Having three pacey midfielders who can put balls on target helped Mullins, a prototypical center-forward who can shoot from just about anywhere inside of the eighteen.
The big question is now can he do it again? Last season, Mullins didn’t receive much attention from defenders which led to him having ample space to operate with. With teams likely to key up on him he is going to need to do more to create chances for his teammates.
That should be to the benefit of Acosta, Nyarko, and Neagle. All three benefited greatly last season when Mullins would be double-teamed scoring a combined 16 goals last year. Ortiz as a late substitute or as Mullins partner up top in a possibly 4-4-2 may also prove to be as key of a signing this season as Acosta was last year.
United midfielder Patrick Nyarko helped light a fire under a stagnant D.C. attack in 2016 (photo credit: Charlotte Thomas)
#2 That Nyarko and Sam can continue to stay healthy
United’s wide play last season was critical to their success up top with Nyarko and Sam forcing defenses that would rather focus on Acosta and Mullins to go wide. That in turn gave the AM connection space to exploit and ultimately goal-scoring opportunities.
The big fear with Olsen relying too heavily on Nyarko and Sam is that they do not exactly have the best history of staying healthy. 2016’s 26 appearances for Nyarko was the most for him since 2013 while Sam overcome ankle and groin injuries. The two are also over 30 years old which isn’t necessarily death sentence but given that Olsen has always emphasized wide play it should be a bit of a concern.
Assuming both can stay healthy and that Neagle can spell them for the odd match D.C. will continue to look to create chances from the outside.
The partnership between Marcelo Sarvas and Luciano Acosta will be key to United’s fortunes in 2017 (photo credit: Kari Heistad)
#3 That Acosta and Sarvas can plug the midfield
One of United’s biggest holes last season was in the center midfield area. For as much as Acosta helped out in terms of creating attacking chances he often left large swaths of area open. This was painfully obvious during the Impact match where Ignacio Piatti exploited this space, creating chances for Matteo Mancosu. If United are to improve upon last season’s fortunes they need to find a better working arrangement between Acosta and whomever Olsen chooses to use in the defensive midfield.
Right now that obligation falls to Marcelo Sarvas. Although Sarvas certainly proved his value to the club at times last season he never really seemed to find his groove with Acosta. Very often the two seemed to overlap one another on the attack or passes never found their intended target.
Since Olsen seems to favor Sarvas over Jared Jeffrey and Rob Vincent for the DM position he may want to look at the Brazilians time with the Los Angeles Galaxy for inspiration. With the Galaxy Sarvas very rarely moved into an attacking position, instead channeling passes to Landon Donovan or Gyasi Zardes out wide. Giving the attackers more space to work with and serving as support on counter-attacks made the Galaxy one of the most difficult clubs to break down in MLS for many years. Although he does not have the wheels that he once had putting Sarvas in a position that he is comfortable with should help plug the center of the pitch and by osmosis help Acosta.
