WASHINGTON - One of the most talked-about themes throughout MLS at this time of year is momentum: which teams have it, which teams don't, and how it can be captured over the next two weeks.
From their unexpected championship campaign during the league's inaugural season to last year's late-blooming MLS Cup ride, D.C. United have repeatedly demonstrated the value of a timely run of form. But this fall, D.C.'s string of promising results leveled off in the season's closing weeks and the typically free-scoring squad has managed only three goals in its last three matches, including last Friday's scoreless draw in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Chicago Fire.
However, coach Peter Nowak and his staff have taken advantage of the additional preparation time provided by their atypical schedule with eight days between games, looking to a long week's worth of crisp training sessions to help United regain the impetus needed to dispatch their visitors at RFK Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
"It's been going well. We know we have a long time until Sunday, so we're kind of pacing ourselves in each training, keeping it short and sharp," said defender Bryan Namoff. "Even the last couple of days, I thought it might have been a little slow just because of coming off a long road trip and a tough game (at Chicago). But we picked it up right where we left off."
Nowak puts a premium on intensity and competitiveness during practice, and his well-established aptitude for motivation appears to have brought his team up a notch this week.
"We're going great, we're working hard," said rookie Bobby Boswell. "People are really getting after each other."
Stout defending was United's main priority at Soldier Field last week, and the back line held up relatively well throughout the scrappy, disjointed match, though the Black-and-Red's attack rarely got on track during the scoreless draw.
"We're not worrying about what happened in Chicago. It was a tough game, we didn't play our best game but we did what we had to do," said midfielder Dema Kovalenko. "We didn't give up any goals. We did all right. We didn't create enough chances to score, but in the back I thought we played pretty good."
The club has also taken pains to move past last week's Freddy Adu controversy and maintain focus and unity in the locker room as D.C. looks to grab its first-ever postseason win against the Fire.
"I don't think anyone is thinking about anything besides the playoffs, and winning this next game," said Namoff. "The talk is only on the playoffs, and only on this one game coming up, and I think that's how it should be."
After alienating teammates with his public comments about playing time, Adu has been brought back into the fold and will be in uniform at RFK after his first-leg suspension in the Windy City. That tight match sorely needed the spark that the teen phenom can provide off the bench, and there's a good chance he will be called upon in the second half on Sunday.
"For sure, for sure," said Kovalenko on Wednesday. "He works hard. He had a very good practice today, and he knows he's a big part of this team. I've said it before, when he comes into the games, he changes the game for us. He can make something happen."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
