Just five games into the 2011 season and D.C. United have alreadyscored more than half as many goals as they did away from home last year.
It’s a tribute to D.C.’s new approach to road matches in theirfirst full season under manager Ben Olsen. Two goals in the first 10 minutesfrom Chris Pontius and Charlie Davies gave United its first road win of theyear, on a field that has traditionally proven to be unwelcoming to visitors – TorontoFC’s BMO Field.
Forward Josh Wolff paid tribute to the team’s pre-gamementality that carried over into a strong on-field performance.
“Our mindset before the game was in the right place,” theveteran forward said. “Guys were excited, they were lively in the locker roomand we preached getting after them even though we’re on the road in a toughplace to play, and we decided for us it was about us pressing and really gettingafter their back four.”
DC VS NY - APRIL 21, 8:00 PM
That mentality paid off right away, as Pontius got on theboard in the 5th minute. He controlled a loose ball in the midfield, and ran atthe Toronto defense. When they didn’t close him down, he created space in thebox, and hit a low drive that beat TFC goalie Stefan Frei.
Only five minutes later, Wolff and Davies combined to doublethe lead. Davies intercepted a stray Danleigh Borman pass, and found Wolff inspace running towards the Toronto box. Frei saved Wolff’s initial shot, butDavies followed up to beat Frei and score his fifth goal of the season.
“Honestly I think every guy in the locker room before thegame was saying ‘let’s drive for the first one, sneak something early and makethe game a little bit easier on ourselves,’” Wolff said. “And it showed upright away.”
Coming away with those early goals left TFC shell-shockedand silenced the usually boisterous TFC crowd. But the game was far from over,and D.C.’s midfield struggled to dominate possession, especially after going upa man following Ty Harden’s sending off early in the second half.
While TFC threatened, the United defense held fast, settingthe table for Pontius to add his second goal of the game on a counterattack inthe 73rd minute to put the game away.
“We broke out on a counter and to just finish up thecounter, put the stamp on the game, it let us relax a little bit more after thethird goal knowing the game was pretty much finished,” Pontius said.
From there, it was a matter of holding on to the shutout –the team’s first of the year. And while there were a couple of close calls, includinganother goal-line clearance by D.C. defender Ethan White, United held on for aclean sheet and a road win that could very well set a new tone for the club in 2011.
