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Is it time to hit panic button in D.C.?

Tue 20th, May 2008

Washington, D.C. (Sports Network) - With a 3-1 loss at Chivas USA on Saturday night, one of Major League Soccer's proudest and most popular franchises, D.C. United, hit rock bottom with its league leading sixth loss in eight fixtures to start the 2008 campaign.

"It's very emotionally draining," D.C. coach Tom Soehn said of the most recent loss.

It wasn't just that United lost, it was how it lost because the team had control of the game for the first 73 minutes.

After D.C.'s prized offseason signing - Argentine veteran Marcelo Gallardo - scored one of the best goals you will see in a MLS match, cutting back at the top of the Goats' penalty area and firing a left-footed blast into the top left corner of the net in the first half, everything came unglued late.

"It's a tough loss, it really is," D.C. defender Marc Burch said. "It's frustrating, it's tough. It hurts to know we could have won that game, to be in control of it and lose it."

Forward Atiba Harris led a three-goal onslaught by the hosts with less than 20 minutes to play, setting up goals by Jesse Marsch, Sacha Kljestan and Jorge Flores, that had Chivas USA in command over what looked like a demoralized D.C. squad.

"We started taking chances instead of being disciplined," Soehn said. "We got isolated one-on-one and tried to win balls instead of standing people up and waiting for help. We took too many risks."

REASON FOR HOPE?

Many point to last season's slow 0-3-1 start as a reason to hope United can climb out of its current last-placed spot in the Eastern table. Last season's team rebounded to finish 16-7-7, but let's not forget that this isn't the same team as a year ago.

The '07 squad was led by MLS Best XI selections Christian Gomez, Ben Olsen and Luciano Emilio. But Gomez was traded away, Olsen is injured and Emilio doesn't even resemble the player he was a year ago.

Olsen, considered by many the heart and soul of the team, hasn't played a minute yet this season because of a career threatening ankle injury. Chances of the crafty winger suiting up again this season are slim at best.

Gomez, a highly skilled attacker, was traded to Colorado after the signing of Gallardo. Is it a coincidence that the Rapids are currently the top team in the Western Conference table?

The league's reigning MVP, Newcomer of the Year and Golden Boot winner, Emilio, was benched for the first half of the loss on Saturday night because of his poor play. He has just one goal after leading the league with 20 in '07. He was once again a non-factor when he entered the game for the final half-hour at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night.

Also gone are goalkeeper Matt Pickens, who transferred overseas, midfielder/defender Josh Gros, whose career could be over because of multiple concussions, and central defenders Bobby Boswell and Greg Vanney, who were traded away in the offseason.

REPLACEMENT KILLERS

The replacements for the aforementioned players have looked like just that ... replacements.

Zach Wells, who was acquired from Houston in the Boswell deal to take Pickens' spot, has been a below average goalkeeper, at best. All three goals on Saturday night touched his hands before touching the back of the net.

"He needed to come up with a couple saves, especially in games on the road that are going to be tight," Soehn said. "I want to look at the tape again, but from my memory, he has to come up with a couple key saves for us."

Gonzalo Martinez and Gonzalo Peralta have been inconsistent as the club's new center backs, leading to the fact that D.C. has given up a league-high 17 goals already.

Gallardo has been a solid player for United in the midfield, but he is not 90 minutes fit yet. United needs him on the field for 90 minutes, which was made clear by what happened almost immediately after he came out of the lineup in the 73rd minute on Saturday.

CHANGES COMING

There are rumors that Soehn's job could be in jeopardy if things don't turn around quickly, especially after former U.S. national team and D.C. United championship coach Bruce Arena's coy comments this weekend.

"Yeah it is," Arena said when asked if he would like to rejoin the ranks of MLS coaches. "... I'll entertain anything that makes sense."

Soehn hears the rumors, even if he won't admit it.

"Everybody is held accountable - players, coaches, everybody," he said.

"We are going to evaluate everything. Right now, it's not good enough. If it means changes, we have to make changes, but we have to rededicate ourselves."

NO REST FOR WEARY

United has little time to correct its current form, with two league fixtures this week - a home and home with Toronto FC on Wednesday and Saturday.

The team is hoping to get a some injured players back, including midfielders Fred and Devon McTavish.

"We are going to go back and hopefully we'll get a couple guys back but everybody still has got to dig deeper," Soehn said. "Games aren't won over 60 minutes, it's 90 minutes, and I thought we had about 60 minutes in us, and that's not good enough in this league, in any league."

With a couple positive results this week, United could be well on its way to climbing out of the basement, or it could sink deeper, possibly forcing team president Kevin Payne and general manager Dave Kasper to make some changes.

"Winning and losing is a habit, and you get in the habits of losing and you almost expect it to come," Soehn said. "We have to change that."

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