Playing with heavy hearts, D.C. United managed a difficult road win in New England
D.C. United pulled off an inspiring win Saturday night in New England. Here are some leftovers from the comeback victory at Gillette Stadium.
MARCELO ON THEIR MINDS
When United's players were told early Saturday morning that Marcelo Saragosa's father had passed away unexpectedly in Brazil, the Black-and-Red were - to a man - devastated for their teammate. D.C. entered the match with heavy hearts and with Saragosa not far from their thoughts.
D.C. United pulled off an inspiring winSaturday night in New England. Here are some leftovers from the comeback victory at Gillette Stadium.
MARCELO ON THEIR MINDS
When United's players were told early Saturdaymorning that Marcelo Saragosa's father had passed away unexpectedly in Brazil,the Black-and-Red were - to a man - devastated for their teammate. D.C. entered the match with heavyhearts and with Saragosa not far from their thoughts.
"When one of our brothers is going throughsomething like that we all feel his pain," said captain Dwayne DeRosario. "We definitelywanted to go and win this game for him and his family, and I'm grateful we wereable to do that. Now, when helooks at the game sheet he'll see that we won and hopefully it will put alittle smile on his face."
It may not have been easy to pick out on thebroadcast, but - in tribute to the popular midfielder and his father - D.C.wore a black armband against the Revolution.
KING ON CALL
As Saragosa was planning his return trip toBrazil, Ben Olsen was scrambling for a replacement to fill out D.C.'s matchdayroster. Stephen King was the manager'schoice, but at first, Olsen couldn't get a hold of the steady midfielder.
At dinner in Arlington with his fiancée andsome friends, King checked his phone at around 8:30 Friday night and saw thathe had two missed calls from his head coach. After confirming his availability, the 26-year-old made abeeline for the airport where a 10:00 p.m. flight took him to Providence. From there he took a cab to the teamhotel in Foxborough, where King settled in for a few hours of sleep before a7:00 a.m. wake-up call on Saturday.
MUSICAL CHAIRS
For the second straight week, the back fourthat finished the match for United wasn't the same group that started it. Dejan Jakovic's second-half injuryforced Robbie Russell to move inside and Chris Korb to come off the bench. Just like they did against Seattle lastSaturday, D.C.'s makeshift back line held firm in the second half.
"It isn't an ideal situation but it is asource of pride that we came together and did well," Russell said. "Hopefully we can keep four guysout there for ninety minutes and get back to a unit that works welltogether."
"We believe in our subs," addedOlsen. "No matter who westart we think we have a group off the bench that can really change thegame."
In addition to praising Russell for his versatility, Olsen singledout Korb, telling reporters after the match that the second-year defender'brought a lot to the game'.
