Ben Olsen’s side faces the other CCL side, Montreal Imapct
TJ Scholl / DC United Comms
D.C. United kick start league play by hosting the Impact
by Sean Maslin, DC
What a week it has been for soccer in Washington D.C. Between the CONCACAF Champions League and a fun little matter called MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations it has certainly been whirlwind week for soccer in the nations capital. Oh, and of course there is also the little matter of the MLS regular season opener between D.C. United and the Montreal Impact.
Now this match could have had some added importance had D.C. United been able to pull off the upset against Alajuelense earlier this week in CCL play. But there was one side in MLS that were able to advance and that was the Montreal Impact, who shockingly beat Pachuca 2-1 on road goals. With just the third series victory over a Liga MX squad, the Impact have started the season in the best possible fashion.
But beyond the breathtaking goal by Cameron Porter, what this Impact team has shown over the past two matches is that they are a fundamentally different squad from 2014. Gone are the days of Marco di Vaio and the slow developing attack. Impact manager Frank Klopas has implemented a style that relies on their speed and pace. Look for midfielders Ignacio Piatti and Justin Mapp to push the United defense out of their comfort zone. United left-back Taylor Kemp must keep his positioning otherwise he will leave space for forward Jack McInerney on crosses.
The big question for D.C. United will be on the attack. Without Fabian Espindola (suspension,) Luis Silva (muscle injury.) and Eddie Johnson (undisclosed medical injury) the club will be without their top three goal-scorers from last season. To put into numbers, Espindola, Johnson, and Silva scored 29 of their 52 goals last season.
To help over come these losses, D.C. United coach will likely go with a 4-4-2 with Chris Pontius and Jairo Arrieta up front. Expect midfielder Chris Rofle start on the left and be the play-maker for the squad, looking for Pontius and Arrieta at the top of the box. The Impact have completely rebuilt their back four with the club adding Laurent Ciman, Donny Toia, and Marco Donadel. Their comfort level in Yallop’s system was apparent Pachuca where Ciman and Donadel were able to link up with midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker to help set up the attack.
If United can find their scoring touch with Pontius or Arrieta then United might be able to get three points out of this match. But given how comfortable the Impact have looked thus far this match should be closer than that, and closer than last year’s Eastern Conference table would suggest.
