D.C. United host New York City FC for their final home match of the 2016 MLS regular season at 3 PM on Sunday, Oct. 16. After stringing together three consecutive wins (including their first come-from-behind victory in Toronto), the Black-and-Red look to continue their upward momentum going into the final two games of the season.
The last time these two teams met, D.C. United traveled to Yankee Stadium to take on New York for the second time this season. Lloyd Sam put the Black-and-Red up 1-0 in the first half before David Villa and Frank Lampard gave the home team a 2-1 lead. Substitute Lamar Neagle seemingly saved a point for D.C. United in the 91st minute only for Lampard to score the game-winner for New York City two minutes later.
“I’ve never gone through a season in my career as a coach or a player that you don’t have games like this,” head coach Ben Olsen said after the dramatic loss. “They hurt for a day or two and then you have to move on.”
And United did just that: they moved on. The loss sparked new life into the Black-and-Red, who went on to score stoppage time game-tying goals in consecutive road matches against the New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire.
When the Black-and-Red returned to RFK Stadium after four away matches, they were firing on all cylinders. They cruised to an emphatic 4-1 win over playoff contenders, Orlando City SC and then followed with a 3-0 shutout against Columbus. To top it all off, they defeated Toronto FC 2-1 at BMO Field, thanks to a brace from Lamar Neagle.
"It’s huge for our momentum,” Neagle said after defeating Toronto. “This is the first time we are on a three-game win streak. To get our last one away at Toronto was huge. They were sitting on top of the East, so it was a big game for us confidence-wise leading into the playoffs."
To get to the playoffs, United need to keep earning positive results, and against a team like New York City FC, who have been a dominant offensive force throughout the year, winning isn’t easy. Shutting down David Villa will be key for the Black-and-Red, who has scored 21 of New York’s 57 goals in 2016. The prolific Spanish striker has scored four goals and recorded an assist in the last two matches and is level with New York’s Bradley Wright-Phillips for the Golden Boot.
D.C. United’s upward trajectory have both fans, players, and coaches excited about the prospect of going into the playoffs in peak form with the team’s confidence budding at just the right time.
