WASHINGTON -- After resuscitating their CONCACAF Champions League campaign with two straight wins, D.C. United will try to edge closer to the tournament's quarterfinal rounds with another victory over San Juan Jabloteh at RFK Stadium on Wednesday night.United secured a hard-fought 1-0 road win over the Trinidadian side at Hasely Crawford Stadium two weeks ago and followed that with a 3-0 dispatching of CD Marathon at RFK last Thursday, simultaneously leaping into second place in Group B and securing a vital tiebreaker advantage over the Hondurans.The path to the knockout stages is now wide open to D.C., but that progression hinges on holding serve at home against the group's last-place team. Jabloteh's athleticism and creativity might make that task more complicated than it might seem, however, and the United players recognize the importance of keeping focused and organized against their Caribbean visitors."We know the importance of this game, especially after winning against Marathon, and we need the three points," said D.C. frontrunner Chris Pontius on Monday. "They're dangerous up top. They have some speed up top -- maybe not the most disciplined team, but I think that's something we can take advantage of."Julius James is likely to anchor the Black-and-Red defense once again this week and the Trinidadian-born center back remembers the difficulties faced in his team's previous meeting with Jabloteh.San Juan's Jason Marcano and Lester Peltier carved out several quality chances while veteran Trinidad and Tobago international defender Dennis Lawrence offered a forceful threat on set pieces."They have two skillful and quick strikers, really fast. They have a pretty strong midfield," said James. "There's Dennis Lawrence, he's like a tree, he's so tall, so we have to keep an eye on him on set plays and stuff like that."United are still reeling from Sunday's 2-1 league loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, a setback that damaged their MLS playoff prospects while also robbing the team of starting goalkeeper Josh Wicks, who will miss the rest of the season with shoulder and knee injuries sustained in a collision with Earthquakes striker Ryan Johnson."Everybody's upset with it," said Pontius. "But we have to bounce back. That's the reality of this season: We're playing in a couple of competitions and so we're playing every three days most of the time and you need to be able to bounce back and put the loss behind you."Starting goalkeeping duties now fall to rookie Milos Kocic, who has logged two starts in Champions League play in addition to three league appearances this season. The former Serbian youth international lacks Wicks' veteran experience but has shown promise and potential in his first MLS campaign."We have to deal with those things and stay focused for the next games, because we're still in it -- we're still fighting for the playoffs and want to stay as focused as we can," said the young 'keeper on Sunday. "I'm ready, I'll step up for the team and try to do the best I can so we can fight for a spot in the playoffs."Their fortunes in domestic competition remain uncertain, with a spot in the MLS postseason likely requiring multiple victories in their final three matches. But if D.C. wins on Wednesday and Marathon fall to group leaders Toluca on Thursday, United's CCL progression alongside Toluca will nearly be assured and James has called on his team to put their league worries aside for the moment and seize the opportunity with confidence."We have a good chance of going on to the second round and we just need to come out and be assertive and stamp our name on the game," he said. "We know what we need to do, you know. We need to come out and get these three points and put this team behind us, and look forward to the league match on the weekend. But first things first."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
