Land of the Leaf

Big thanks to Sadler from our sister blog Right Off Russell for his insight on DC.  We’re friends today, bitter enemies tomorrow!  His comments are italicized.

Previous Match:
Toronto FC is coming off of a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps that kicked off the Nutrilite Voyageurs Cup.  They’ll face some stiffer competition on Saturday afternoon as they face DC United at RFK Stadium.  Last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with the Columbus Crew ran Toronto’s unbeaten streak to three games, and interim head coach Chris Cummins will look for his squad to come-up big against the Eastern Conference’s first place club.  TFC currently sits in second in the East, just a single marker behind DC.

DC United is coming off a tough midweek matchup at KC where they tied the Wizards 1-1. In that game, coach Tom Soehn gained a 1-0 lead with some of his stars sitting out the 1st half. First year player, Rodney Wallace was able to grab his second goal of the season.  KC was able to notch the tie thanks to a strike by Josh Wolfe early in the 2nd half. DC once again played strong defense as they were able to limit the Wizards to only 3 shots on goal.

Key Players:
Stefan Frei - Frei has shown excellent poise in goal early this season.  The goal he allowed versus Columbus was the first goal allowed by TFC in 240 minutes.

Chad Barrett - After failing to score in the first four matches of the season, Barrett has now scored in two of the team’s last four matches.

Dwayne De Rosario - De Rosario missed two full games with a hamstring injury, but coach Cummins quickly reinserted him in the lineup and it paid off.  De Rosario set up a beauty score when Kevin Harmse headed home his cross.

Christian Gomez: This midfield is the true leader on the field. Though not as talented as DP Marcelo Gallardo, Gomez has found a way to gel the team in a way that Gallardo could not last season.

Luis Crayton: Crayton is an a aggressive goal keeper who has been able to help keep DC in games despite a young defense.

Luciano Emilio: One of the top 5 goal scorers in the league. Look for him to strike anytime, anywhere.

Outlook:
It’s essentially a battle for first, and the DC crowd will be fired up.  I’m looking for a solid back and forth match, with TFC squeaking out an important road victory.  2-1 TFC.

This should be a very passionate game. The fans will be holding a rally earlier in the day to help convince one of the local governments to assist in building a soccer only facility for the team. It will be loud and rocking! From the field, look for the players to be a little tired from the midweek match on the road. I am going to go out on a limb and say that they home field crowd puts DC over the edge in a 3-2 win.