Results tagged “rfk”

The CONCACAF Gold Cup - the bi-annual soccer tournament for the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean - kicks off Friday, but the festivities will through the District next week when RFK Stadium hosts a first round double-header on Wednesday July 8. The United States, fresh off that tremendous Confederations Cup run, will play the nightcap against Honduras, while Haiti and Grenada will duke it out in the early 7 p.m. match. Tickets are available here. Maybe you’re familiar with the U.S. team, but not so much the others? We figured as much, so here is your official DCist guide to the 2009 Gold Cup.

            

On the surface, there wasn't much separating D.C. United and the Chicago Fire heading into their match at RFK Stadium last night. Both teams had scored and allowed the exact same number of goals -- 20 for, 17 against. Both held large margins in the way they score, namely, from the run of play -- United had scored 70% of goals in open play, the Fire, 65%. United had not lost at home, while Chicago boasted a spotless record on the road.

Say what you will about United's performance this season on the whole, but even the most pessimistic of supporters would have a difficult time arguing that this year's encounters with our rivals to the north, New York, have been anything but enjoyable. In the first two matches -- one, a thrilling, last-minute, two-goal comeback at Giants Stadium, and the other a game in which United led by four after 30 minutes in the Open Cup -- D.C. has earned positive results amid an ocean of mediocre draws. As they should: the league's runner-up last season, the Red Bulls currently wallow in dead last at an anemic 2-7-3, having only managed to score more than two goals in a game once this year.

           

From the start, it just seemed like a match that one goal would win. After all, the evening's opponents just so happened to be winless (0-4-0) on the road, without a single goal to their name. But unfortunately for United, that vital tally never came -- the team couldn't avenge their loss to Real Salt Lake earlier this season and sent 16,089 away kissing their sisters after last night's 0-0 draw at RFK.

Victor MacFarlane, the San Francisco-based real estate magnate, has sold his share of D.C. United to partner Will Chang, another San Francisco real estate executive. Chang now owns 98% of the team, with former Dukies Christian Laettner and Brian Davis splitting the rest. Chang and MacFarlane bought the team in 2007 and have been particularly active in pushing new stadium developments in both Poplar Point and outside the District in Prince George's County. While the initial reaction may be panic — Red Bulls supporters could be heard chanting "St. Louis United" tauntingly after last night's D.C. win — there is a belief out there that MacFarlane's demands went beyond a stadium to include an entire complex. Either way, the next few months may hold some very interesting developments in the future of the club in the D.C. area.

            

If there was anything to glean from United's 5-3 whupping of the New York Red Bulls last night, it was that any analytical recap angles this writer planned to explore went out the window after United struck four times in the opening 30 minutes. Oh, and that Chris Pontius is really, really good in the air. With apologies to topics like goalie Josh Wicks and how he compares to United's other keepers and United's incredible bench strength, last night's win -- which earned United a place in the First Round Proper of the U.S. Open Cup -- was simply about one side running roughshod over the other for 45 minutes, and, of course, the further emergence of United's newest goal-scoring phenom.

In which DCist talks to the people that help make the Black-and-Red one of the premier clubs in the North American soccer world.

Sometimes, in football as in life, it's just not your night. But even when that's the case, a team can ride out the storm and still take the three points. And so it was last night: the Black-and-Red overcame a frustrating first half by leaning on the back of captain Jaime Moreno, whose silky second-half brace led them to a 2-1 victory over a less-than-stellar FC Dallas team.

"This Is Your D.C. United" is a new DCist feature, in which we'll talk to the people that help make the Black-and-Red one of the premier clubs in the North American soccer world. Keep checking back on Saturdays and Sundays for more discussions throughout the season.

The Gold Cup's quickly approaching, folks. OK, OK, that one too, but also the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the continent's international soccer championship (it does seem remarkable, however, that the Virginia Gold Cup web site gets more hits than a bi-annual soccer tournament that crowns the champion of all of North and Central America and the Caribbean). Lucky for us, Washington has been named one of the 13 host cities in this year's event. Even luckier, we're one of three cities that will host one of team USA's first round games: they'll take on Honduras on Wednesday, July 8 at RFK. The game is part of a double-header starting at 7 p.m., with Haiti and Grenada kicking things off. What's more, Honduras is the last team in the region to beat the U.S. at home, when they pulled a 3-2 upset at RFK in 2001. Though this is one of three major competitions for the Americans this year—they'll play in the FIFA Confederations Cup in late June in addition to their ongoing World Cup qualifying slate—they've won the tournament 3 out of the last 4 times, and coach Bob Bradley's men will be looking to win their third straight. The game should also provide a great chance for RFK to flex its pro-Yank muscles (the stadium will also host the integral World Cup qualifying match against Costa Rica on October 14) after being left out of hosting duties for one World Cup cycle. Tickets went on sale this morning.

            

For the first forty-five minutes at RFK Stadium last night, it felt like there was something missing. Maybe it was the team's shooting boots, maybe it was the initiative. Possibly that little extra oomph which the team usually comes out of the tunnel with. It might have been the intricate touch and innovation in front of goal.

Despite complaints by some Ward 6 residents about idling engines, the Nationals say they will continue to offer shuttles from RFK to Nationals Park this season, WTOP's Adam Tuss reports. Like last year, Nats fans will be able to park for free at RFK and catch the free shuttle to the ballpark. More interesting: Tuss notes that "Team officials have not yet announced plans for any changes to parking around the stadium." Considering all the fear mongering about traffic and parking nightmares that never materialized, you'd think the Nats might want to try to do something more with the mostly empty, hideous above-ground parking lots in front of the stadium.

It seems only fitting that after the club's offseason personnel difficulties, that whole stadium thing, and a disappointing 2-2 draw last weekend in Los Angeles, D.C. United's 2009 home opener was played under a gloomy, overcast March mist and a somewhat disappointing crowd of 15,895 -- if there ever was an evening that foretold an unsatisfying draw was just over the horizon, well, this was it. And so it came to pass: despite several injuries, D.C. United had some great chances but couldn't take advantage, tying Chicago 1-1 on Saturday night.

The EagleBank Bowl, the first college football bowl game ever scheduled to be played inside the District, was a virtual lock to feature Navy, who finished the season at 8-4 after a 34-0 thrashing of Army on Saturday. What wasn't so clear was who the Midshipmen would play. Well, consider the mystery solved: Wake Forest accepted an invitation to play in the game, which will kick off, quite literally, the annual glut of football which straddles New Year's. RFK Stadium will host the game on December 20 at 11 a.m. — the bowl game's (rather expensive) tickets are definitely still available.

           

Well, it was almost too appropriate.

D.C. United have made a habit of dropping points this season, especially lately. A 5-2 laugher in Los Angeles was followed by successive pathetic shutouts against Dallas and Chivas USA. All results that somehow made last weekend's goalless draw at Houston look like a major victory while simultaneously dwindling D.C.'s playoff hopes.

       

It's been quite the season for Major League Soccer, at least in terms of parity. Coming into Saturday's activity, only Columbus had laid claim to one of the eight MLS Cup playoffs spots, and every single team in the league remained mathematically alive in the chase for the playoffs.

Written by DCist contributor Rob Birgfeld.

With only ten minutes remaining in DC United’s match against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night, previously beleaguered comeback-player-of-the-year candidate Santino Quaranta worked his way through midfield and slid a wonderful angled pass behind the New York defense to MLS all-time leading goalscorer Jaime Moreno. Moreno’s first touch was immaculate and his second eluded the NY defender, forcing him into a rash challenge that brought down the United legend and won a penalty.

             

Consistency is of pinnacle importance to a team's success at the highest level of club soccer. Unfortunately for D.C. United, finding consistency and keeping it has been this season's significant challenge. After dropping three points on the road to the New England Revolution midweek, the squad had alternated wins and losses in their previous five matches. On the plus side, their opponents on Saturday night were their Western Conference mirror image - the Colorado Rapids had succeeded in taking the maximum return in only three matches since the beginning of June. With both teams on the fringes of the MLS playoff race - United currently in seventh position, and the Rapids four points off the pace - something had to give.

              

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup may not have the allure of its English counterpart, the FA Cup, but it's still one of the oldest competitions in the world, now in it's 94th year (out-dating the main cup competitions in both Germany and Italy by years). But even though it's fun and unpredictable cup football, when one of the notable claims to tradition of the tournament is the triple victories achieved in 1980, 1982, and 1983 by the (no kidding) New York Pancyprian Freedoms — well, it's safe to say that the tournament is going to have some difficulty drawing significant interest. Cue the D.C. United supporters who rarely disappoint — the small crowd of 6,797 was at it's throaty best, voicing for a crowd twice as large. It's no wonder that United responded in kind, overwhelming the New England Revolution 3-1 to move on to the 2008 Open Cup final.

At least this time it didn't occur halfway through the match.

         

One wonders what DC United Coach Tom Soehn said to his team at halftime. Down 1-0 after dominating possession in the first half, without two banged up star midfielders, but at home against a tough but beatable Chicago Fire team, did he make tactical changes? Did he exhort the players to make the second half a turning point in the season? Did he pull misfiring forward (and reigning MVP) Luciano Emilio aside and give him a little confidence boost?