It's been nearly eight weeks since D.C. United players first began reporting to RFK Stadium for the beginning of the 2009 pre-season and now the team has one final game before its first full week of regular season training. Tonight, the team will take on the Charleston Battery in the final game of the Carolina Challenge Cup. Tomorrow, they'll return to D.C. and begin focusing on the first game of the 2009 MLS season. We are but eight days away from the season opener in Los Angeles against the Galaxy (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET - Comcast SportsNet, TeleFutura).
This morning, the team began their gameday routine with breakfast and then a walk and stretch. They'll gather again for a team meal at 3:30 p.m. ahead of the 7 p.m. kickoff this evening.
A piece of bad news for those not in Charleston - Toronto FC has decided not to provide streaming video of the evening's second game, so you'll have to follow along in either our live chat or via Twitter. The live chat will provide more of a running commentary, while Twitter will provide you with goal updates.
As we wrap up the 2009 pre-season, here's a look at the team's five (six after tonight) games:
- 2/6: L, DCU 1 - Vejle Bolkdklub 4 (N'Silu 1)
- 2/10: W, DCU 2 - Columbus Crew 1 (Emilio 1, Pontius 1)
- 2/21: W, DCU 2 - Puerto Rico Islanders 1 (Gomez 1, Simms 1)
- 3/7: L, DCU 0 - Real Salt Lake 3
- 3/11: L, DCU 1 - Toronto FC 2 (Pontius 2)
- 3/14: DCU vs. Charleston Battery
I'll be back later with tonight's starting lineup.
