Following D.C. United’s 4-2 loss in its home opener to the Kansas City Wizards, the Washington Post hit out at the local side, accusing the team of deciding “to revamp its attack and ignore its defensive needs” in the offseason. Indeed, Kansas City “tore apart” United’s back line in the first half, putting three goals past Troy Perkins with relative ease, including two in the opening eight minutes. It was the second consecutive loss for United, a preseason favorite for the MLS title.
“We are, right now, not as good as we thought we were and it’s going to take a lot of looking at the film and each other and figuring it out,” midfielder Ben Olsen said. After conceding twice, United managed to draw level, but Eddie Johnson’s go-ahead goal in first- half stoppage time underscored how slow and disorganized it looked at the back. Fittingly, Johnson’s goal was met by a chorus of boos, presumably for poor defending. In the 54th minute, Johnson again broke through; Scott Sealy put home the rebound to put the game beyond United.
“You set yourselves up to get back in the game and then we let two more goals in,” Coach Tom Soehn said. “You let four goals in, you’ve got no chance. . . . We’ve forgotten what it takes to win games.” Added midfielder Christian Gomez, last season’s league MVP, “I’m worried, obviously. We have to fix some things.”