SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2010 SOCCER
Hoping for a not-so-offensive offense With 13 goals stretched over 20 games, D.C. United has a simple objective: score more
BY PAUL TENORIO I
n a dreadful season for D.C. United — one in which it fired a coach in the middle of
the season for the first time, is sputtering to the franchise’s worst-ever record and has not won a league game since June 10 —perhaps no problem has been as evident as United’s woes in front of the net. Withjust 10gamesremaining
in the regular season and only 13 goals scored, United most cer- tainly will set the team mark for fewest goals in a season (the current low is 31 goals in 2002) and is bearing down on the league’s all-time worst scoring mark of 25 goals in a season — set by Toronto FC in 2007, the club’s inaugural season. United also has been shut out
13 times this season, just two away from the league’s all-time high of 15, also set by Toronto FC in 2007. The lack of a finishing touch
has led to frustration, especially because United’s players and coaches feel the team is creating chances but has failed to capital- ize.
“You go through these finish-
ing droughts; a lot of teams go through them,” D.C. interim coach Ben Olsen said. “Ours is a little bit extensive, much too extensive for all our liking, but what can we do but keep plug- ging away? The beauty of that stuff is it only takes one game, it only takes a lucky break and maybe that lucky break was last week when we got an own goal. . . . There’s been some good stuff, it’s just the final part isn’t there. I’d be more concerned if we were creating zero chances. That’s not the case.” No forward on the roster has
more than two goals this season and the team’s top finisher is 17-year-old outside midfielder Andy Najar — one of just two players on the roster to score in multiple games this season. The lack of scoring is not for
lack of trying byUnited. D.C. (3-14-3) has started al-
most as many combinations of forwards, 12, as it has goals this
United vs. Union Where: RFK Stadium When: 2 p.m. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WDCN (87.7 FM), Spanish.
Records: United 3-14-3 (12 points); Union 4-10-5 (17 points).
United projected starting lineup: GK Bill Hamid; Ds Devon McTavish, Julius James, Carey Talley, Marc Burch; MFs Andy Najar, Stephen King, Branko Boskovic, Santino Quaranta; Fs Danny Allsopp, Pablo Hernandez.
eryone no matter where you’re playing on the pitch,” Allsopp said. “At the end of the day I just try to concentrate on what I can control and what I can do and take it from there. So hopefully we have a spell where we don’t change things so much, as we seem to change things all the time, [and] we can settle down a little bit.Butthat’ll help ifwecan start getting a couple winsonthe board.” As much as D.C. has failed to
produce up top, it has also al- lowed a league-high 35 goals. And while United has struggled offensively, Olsen refused to pin the team’s struggles solely on the forwards. “Look, there’s all this empha-
NED DISHMAN/GETTY IMAGES
“You go through these finishing droughts,” saidD.C.United interim coach Ben Olsen, explaining his team’s goal-scoring woes.
season.Andonly three times this season have the same two strik- ers started next to each other in back-to-back games – Chris Pon- tius and Jaime Moreno in the season’s first two games, Adam Cristman and Danny Allsopp on May 5, 8 and 15, and Cristman and Santino Quaranta on July 3
and 10. The constant rotation of for-
wards through the starting line- up could contribute to the scor- ingwoesasmuchas fix them, but players said no matter who is on the field the individual effort has to be there. “It’s been frustrating for ev-
sis on scoring goals, but we’re also bleeding goals,” Olsen said. “So it’s not just this side of it, it’s the other side. There’s going to be all this talk we haven’t scored goals but we’ve also been letting goals in. Our whole focus isn’t right now, ‘Score, score,’ putting more pressure on the scorer. To be fair, I’ve put more pressure on the defense to deal with what they need to deal with soweget a zero-zero tie. . . . “It’s a whole team effort here;
let’s not just put this on the forwards and say, ‘You got to score goals.’ There are final balls, there are other guys creating more chances, there’s runs out of play, if you’re down already a goal or two things change in a game. So there are all types of things going on. I don’t want to just put this on the forwards.”
tenoriop@washpost.com
KLMNO
EZ SU TENNIS
Del Potro still hurt, is out of U.S. Open
Defending champ joins S. Williams on sidelines
BY LIZ CLARKE Del Potro One day after the U.S. Open
lost world No. 1 Serena Williams from its field, defending men’s champion Juan Martin del Potro informed tournament officials that he’ll be unable to compete in the season’s finalmajor, aswell. Del Potro’s withdrawal wasn’t
quite as stunning, given that he hasn’t competed since his fourth- round loss at theAustralianOpen in January and underwent sur- gery to repair an injured right wrist onMay 4. Still, tournament officials had
expected the lanky Argentine would travel to New York to de- fend the title he claimed in com- manding fashion, topplingRafael Nadal in the semifinals and snap- ping Roger Federer’s five-year chokehold on the trophy in a five- set final. Saturday’s statement confirming otherwisewas terse. “It is unfortunate that Juan
Martin has not recovered from wrist surgeryintime todefendhis U.S. Open title,” tournament di- rector Jim Curley said. “We wish himall the best and look forward to his return to New York next year.” But the impact of Williams’s
withdrawal, which installs world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki, a 20- year-oldDane and last year’s run- ner-up, as the tournament’s top seed, continued to reverberate over theweekend. “It leaves the women’s field
without its best-pressure Grand- Slam performer of the last de- cade,” said former pro PamShriv- er, an ESPN analyst. “It leaves it without someone who has won two of the three majors this year [the Australian Open and Wim- bledon] and who has won three U.S.Opens. It’s a huge void.” Added Mary Carillo, another
former pro and frequent TV com- mentator: “It’s a terrible pity. There’s nothing good about it.” Williams, 28, reportedly cut
her right foot on broken glass at a restaurant in Munich shortly af- ter winning her fourth Wimble- don title and 13th major (most among active female players) in July.She lost toKimClijsters inan exhibition a few days later, then pulled out of theWorld TeamTen- nis season (she’s the marquee player for the Washington Kas- tles) and underwent foot surgery July 15. On Friday Williams informed
U.S. Open officials that doctors had advised her against compet- ing in the tournament, which startsAug. 30. While the circumstances of
Williams’s foot injury aren’t en- tirely clear, commentator Mary Joe Fernandez said she had no doubt itwas serious. “Her main goal is to win ma-
jors,” said Fernandez, a former touring pro and ESPN analyst. “I’ve got to think it’sprettybadfor her tomiss something like this.” Williams’s withdrawal leaves
this year’s U.S. Open women’s fieldwildly unpredictable. The top-seeded Wozniacki,
who lost to Clijsters in last year’s final, has never entered a major tournament as the favorite or even a likely victor. Clijsters, 27, a two-time U.S.
Open champion, has impressed with her quick return to form since coming out of retirement in spring 2009. But she injured her hip during a loss toVera Zvonare- va in Montreal on Friday night. While insisting she’ll be fine, Cli- jsters could feel the effects. Former No. 1 Venus Williams,
30, is always a threat on the U.S. Open’s hard courts, where she triumphed in 2000 and 2001. But she hasn’t competed since her stunning quarterfinal exit at Wimbledon, presumably to give her knees a chance to recover.
clarkel@washpost.com
S. Williams
D3
ANDREW YATES/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Nicolas Anelka, middle, scores for Chelsea against Wigan. The defending league champion has opened this season with two 6-0 wins and has scored 29 goals in its past eight league games dating from last year.
ROUNDUP Arsenal, Chelsea each roll a six
Premier League teams show title credentials with impressive wins
ASSOCIATED PRESS Chelsea and Arsenal crushed
their Premier League opponents 6-0 Saturday in ruthless displays of their title credentials. Nicolas Anelka and Salomon
Kalou scored two goals each for Chelsea at Wigan, a week after the defending champions trounced West Bromwich Albion by the same 6-0 score in the season opener. Chelsea had led 1-0 at halftime
through a goal by FlorentMalou- da. But Anelka quickly scored twice after the break and Yossi Benayoun completed the rout in stoppage time following Kalou’s double. “We scored six, but we suf-
fered a lot in the first half,” Chelsea striker Didier Drogba said. Arsenal responded to its draw
at Liverpool in the opener by routing newcomer Blackpool, with Theo Walcott scoring his
first hat trick for the club as it chases its first title since 2004. Blackpool was reduced to 10
men in the first half following a red card to defender Ian Evatt for a foul that appeared to be outside the penalty area but was ruled to have occurred inside the area. “What was pleasing today
with Theo was that he made the right decisions in the final third and was calm in front of goal,” Arsenal Manager ArseneWenger said. Tottenham, which broke into
the Premier League’s top four last season, relied on Gareth Bale’s double to edge Stoke, 2-1. An apparent goal by Stoke’s
Jon Walters in the 86th minute would have tied the game. It was disallowed, however, after the referee ruled the ball did not cross the line. Replays appeared to show that it had. l GERMANY: Ruud van
Nistelrooy scored twice to give Hamburg SV a winning start to its Bundesliga campaign with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Schalke. Hamburg joined five other
teams on three points after the opening round. In othermatches,Hoffenheim
rallied to beat Werder Bremen, 4-1, and promoted teams St. Pauli
and Kaiserslautern also came frombehind to win on the road. l MLS:Newly acquiredRafael
Marquez scored his first goal for his newteamasNewYork defeat- ed hostToronto, 4-1. ItwasToron- to’s first home loss this year. Toronto entered third in the
Eastern Conference behind sec- ond-place New York and was hoping to make up some ground before a stadiumrecord crowd of 22,108. The gamemarked French star
Thierry Henry’s first trip to BMO Field. Booed from his first touch of
the ball, the former Barcelona and Arsenal player had an excel- lent scoring chance in the 57th minute. But he misfired from about 10yards out.Hewas substi- tuted soon after. . . . Chris Wondolowski thrilled a
record-setting home crowd for San Jose after he scored in the fourth minute to life the Earth- quakes to a 1-0 victory over league-leading Los Angeles. Wondolowski took advantage
ofwhat appeared to be amiscom- munication betweenGalaxy goal- ie Donovan Ricketts and defend- er A.J. DeLaGarza to score his team-high eighth goal of the sea- son, before 10,799.
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