D.C. United forward Alvaro Saborio gets a drink while goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra looks on (photo credit: Jennifer Jordan-Harrell)
It is never a good sign when just before the third match of the season a club is turning to their third string goalkeeper. It is usually a mark of bad luck and a sign that there could be trouble ahead. It is not necessarily a “all hope is lost” moment but mostly an indicator that their plans might need to change to achieve success.
Such is the situation that D.C. United finds themselves in after losing goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra to herniated disk in his back. Club officials indicated to the Washington Post’s Steven Goff that the injury could see him sidelined for 10-12 weeks. This injury, coupled with losing starter Bill Hamid in the preseason due to a knee injury, has United scrambling to find an answer not just for their starter on Sunday against the Colorado Rapids (5:00pm ESPN2) but for the near future.
For the time being that job appears to belong to Travis Worra. Worra started for United in their 0-0 draw against the New England Revolution last Saturday and had one appearance for the club last season (he was a substitute in United’s 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps last April). The former University of New Hampshire standout played mostly for the Richmond Kickers last season in the United Soccer League, registering a record of 2-4-5 (wins-losses-draws) and a Goals Against Average of 1.09.
Against New England, Worra had a very solid, but unspectacular match. Although he made a couple of quality saves late, he was bailed out by a stellar defensive effort.
Worra’s issues on Saturday appear to just be in relation to a lack of game experience at this particular professional level. An example of this is his save on midfielder Lee Nguyen’s driving shot in the 58th minute (at about the 1:50 mark in the video below). As opposed to holding onto the ball or, in case it was difficult to control, parrying it away for a corner Dykstra opts to make a stop where the ball is still within play and not within his vicinity. Again, D.C. has a very strong defense but there were better options for Worra to make and a keeper with a little more experience might make a different decision.
So aside from Worra, who can D.C. turn to in the back of the net? In a move that was lost a bit in the headlines over the past couple of weeks was the club’s acquisition of Charlie Horton from English League Championship side Leeds United. Horton, who is an under-23 United States Men’s National Team international, never really came on at Leeds or at stops with Peterborough and Cardiff City. In a bit of irony, United actually acquired his rights from the Revolution in exchange for General Allocation Money.
Despite not making a professional appearance for a club side, Horton has featured for the under-23 USMNT side at the Toulon Tournament and featured for them against Brazil in a two-match series in November. It has not yet been revealed whether he will be a part of the side that will play against Colombia for one of the remaining spots at the 2016 Olympics. The United States will play in a two-match series against the South American side starting on March 25.
With Horton still learning the ropes, it appears that United’s best option is Worra. With D.C. facing a rebuilt Rapids attack and an F.C. Dallas side that finished fourth last season in goals scored his grasp of match fundamentals and tactics will be tested and will be sign of what United might accomplish this season.
