DCU Primer: Off to see the Wizards

Tonight sees DC United travel to Kansas City, Kansas to face the Wizards. Having just played on Saturday, it’s a match on short rest, and we know that we can’t expect to see all of the familiar faces in the starting lineup. Fred, Ben Olsen, and Marc Burch all stayed home from the trip, With that in mind, I’d expect to see the following lineup:

GK: Kocic
D: Namoff, Janicki, Jakovic
M: Wallace, Simms, Gomez, Jacobsen, Pontius
F: Emilio, Quaranta

Avery John is a possibility in the back, pushing Jakovic to the middle for Janicki, and Jaime Moreno would be the first attacking option off the bench.

The Wizards are in 4th in the East and 7th overall, with 10 points from 7 matches. They’re 2-0-1 at home, the loss coming in the season opener to Toronto. United, tied for 1st in the East and tied for 3rd overall, have won two consecutive matches in the league, and are undefeated in their last three. Their only loss this season has come on the road (2-1 at Real Salt Lake).

The key for United tonight is going to be how the bench players fill in for the starters. Coming off the bench for 30 minutes and performing is not as difficult as starting and playing well for 60 to 90 minutes. The true test of depth for this team is nights like this when we know we’re going to be missing multiple starters and guys that don’t usually get a lot of minutes are plugged in. When all is said and done, I’m expecting at least a point out of this match.