DC United Hoping to Bag the Rhinos Again

DC United Hoping to Bag the Rhinos Again

Mike Martin

June 30, 2008

DC United's Coach Tom Soehn
Photo: Martin Fernandez

DC United takes on the USL1 Rochester Rhinos in the US Open Cup at the Soccerplex tomorrow night, and United is probably hoping this third time will be the charm as they defeated the Rhinos the two previous times the two teams have met in this knockout tournament which is open to any US team willing to compete.

Washington D.C., As a fan of soccer, you’ve just gotta love the Open Cup. It’s the oldest continuously contested Cup competition in the United States, the first one having been awarded in 1914, and every year since then. Plus, it’s truly an Open competition. Any ditch digging group of shinkickers can register for a league and work their way into a qualifying slot for the Open Cup, and with luck, keep pulling off upsets to make into the later stages against the big boys.

DC United was the first MLS Club to win an Open Cup in 1996, and they defeated the Rhinos 3-0 in that final. Jaime Moreno had the final goal in that stunning win to complete the double that year after having won the MLS Cup the week before. United also faced the Rhinos in their worst season ever, 2000, and beat them handily by another 3-0 scoreline.

In fact, DC has never lost any Open Cup match to any USL side when they were the home side. A perfect 5-0-0 record against lower division teams at home in the 10 times they have entered this tournament. Plus, United is 5-0-1 playing at the Soccerplex, the only blemish being a hideously painful penalty kick knockout by Dallas and that dratted anchovy Ruiz helped by Okalaja the worst referee in the history of mankind. Not that I’m still bitter you understand. No, I’ve moved on. I can barely remember that dagger to the heart goal by that flopping piece of crap, tying the game after hours of stoppage time…..

Anyway, back to reality, certainly if history is considered, DC should feel pretty confident heading into their first Open Cup match of the season. Also, the Rhinos are enduring their worst season in years sitting at the very bottom of USL1 with a 2-5-5 record, having lost their last game 3-1, and not having a single road win so far this season.

Unfortunately, the current situation easily trumps any of that rosy history and the Rhinos current form. United just played Sunday in an emotional game on National TV in the noonday heat and simply cannot rely on too many starters being able to recover in 48 hours to play against the Rhinos. Plus, some crucial injuries and roster decisions will hamper the team as well.

Moreno and Quaranta are certainly out of the match, both with nagging injuries that would be foolish to push, so Moreno’s scoring streak against them is over. Also, it is pretty unlikely too many other starters will be able to make the effort. My guess, only the younger guys like Marc Burch and Devon McTavish are likely to be available. So, even though DC has clearly made it known they are taking the Open Cup very seriously this year, the schedule is hampering more than a little bit.

That said, one of the beauties of the Cup is that you get to see the bottom of an MLS roster take on some decent veteran players of the lower leagues. Rochester has quite a few ex MLS players including Steve Guppy, who played right midfield briefly for DC back in 2005. They also have some MLS expansion cast offs, Luke Kremalmeyer and Tiger Fitzpatrick who played for RSL, and Alfonso Loera, who played for Chivas in 2005.

They also have some players with experience against DC United. Goalie Scott Vallow was in the nets for that loss in 2000 if memory serves, and played a 1-1 tie against DC for Colorado Rapids in the 2003 season. Matthew Delicate was on that Richmond team that upset DC in the Open Cup in Richmond in 2004, and midfielder Ze Roberto played for the Hershey Wildcats when we beat them 3-0 in 2001. Plus, Liberian playmaker Johhny Menyongar is the lower division leading scorer against MLS teams in the Open Cup with 8 lifetime goals scored in the finals of the tournament, most of those for Minnesota Thunder however.

So, despite their current record, Rochester has a pretty decent roster of experienced players that could easily upset United’s reserve team. They are a tough team to score on despite only two wins on the season. They’ve only given up 12 goals in 12 games, recording 3 shutouts, plus one more shutout against Pittsburg to advance to this round of the Cup.

Looking at the expected matchups going forward doesn’t seem to be too inspiring for DC. Francis Doe having finally been let out of Africa is a lock to start at forward, and I think it likely rookie Ryan Cordiero will play alongside him since DC United recently released Franco Niell before the salary cap freeze, leaving the team decidedly thin at forward. Still, Doe and Cordiero should do pretty well against Loera and Nate Craft in central defense, especially with Dyachenko in central midfield going against Kremelmeyer.

On the left side, I think it will be Burch at midfield and rookie Mike Zaher at left back going against Steve Guppy and Tiger Fitzpatrick. Then on the right it will likely be Quavas Kirk and maybe Dominic Mediate or Pat Carroll at right back depending on who’s fitter coming off an injury. They’ll be facing off against Ze Roberto and Scott Palguta. Neither of those matchups on the outsides are particularly favorable for DC. A surprise might be Bryan Namoff making the effort to play on the right given the situation and the danger of Ze Roberto.

It’s not too much better for DC defensively either even though the Rhinos have had a lot of trouble scoring goals this year, with only 11 in 12 games, six of those coming in two games, and only 3 on the road. The fact of the matter is the USL1 is a very good league and most defenders are better than DC’s reserve defenders. If some regular starters do manage to play, DC’s chances go way up, though.

In central midfield, Menyongar going against Stratford is trouble as Doe’s Liberian compatriot is a very good player who plays midfield almost like another forward totally unbalancing defenses. Not saying Stratford is bad, just saying Menyongar is good. So, Dyachenko will likely have to help out meaning he either gets pulled backward too much, or he gets tossed as he is prone to some reckless tackles, neither of which is good for DC obviously.

Then at forward, Rochester has Brazilian Mauricio Salles, who leads the team in scoring with four goals and two assists, and he’s been in the top six in goals in USL every year since 2004. Matthew Delicate is no slouch either and don’t be fooled by his name, he is Dichio big and just as tough to control even though he is having a very bad year by his standards. Dane Murphy and hopefully McTavish will likely have their hands full.

Goalkeeper will be an interesting position for DC. The obvious choice would be Carvallo, but considering the team has so little faith in his future that they downgraded his contract to month to month according to the insider, and given the importance of this match, Zach Wells may just start. Maybe he can finally get a shutout this year going against the weakest offensive team in USL1, since he couldn’t mange it against the weakest scoring team in MLS two weeks ago.

Bottom line, this game is likely very even odds on paper, unless some starters take the field. However, whatever is afflicting the Rhinos this year will continue hopefully and they go quietly into the night getting shutout by DC. But considering they are a proud franchise used to success, and this is their most important game of the season since they are all but out of the running for any USL glory, they’ll probably treat it like a Cup final and look to take advantage of a weakened DC. The Rhinos are the only lower division team to win the Open Cup since MLS was launched in 1996, having captured the crown in 1999.

Should United advance, soccer gods willing, DC should face either Chicago or the USL2 Cleveland in the quarterfinal round, a game that might be played at the Maryland Soccerplex on July 8th. Chicago knocked DC out of the Open Cup in 2006.

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