D.C. United return home this Sunday for the first time following a four-match road trip to face the Montreal Impact at 6:30 PM ET on NewsChannel 8. It will be the first time the teams have played this season – United won 1-0 in the last meeting between the two in D.C.
“It’s been a month on the road. That can take its toll,” said United head coach Ben Olsen of the team’s road trip. “So coming back is exciting and we are looking forward to playing here at RFK.”
After a demanding slate of games in July, United play at home for the first time since June 25th, when they defeated the New England Revolution 2-0. Overall, United are 4-4-1 at home this season and recorded their largest margin of victory at RFK Stadium, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0 on April 9th.
Black-and-Red supporters will be anxious to get a look at Patrick Mullins and Lloyd Sam, the team’s newest acquisitions. Both players’ debuts for the club came on the road, and Sunday’s match will be the first chance for United fans to see them in person. After a fantastic collegiate career at the nearby University of Maryland, where he won two MAC Hermann trophies, Mullins will hope to translate his goal-scoring prowess in the D.C. area to the professional level.
“It adds that I had a good past in the area, but it doesn’t dictate the future and that is where we are right now at D.C. United, in the present, so it’s all about that for me,” said Mullins. “It’s all about making sure I put in the right work to make sure I’m ready physically and technically on the day and I’ll make sure to do that.”
United’s midfield corps recently received a welcome boost with the return of Patrick Nyarko, who was out two months with a concussion. Despite missing time, Nyarko is still tied for the lead among the team’s midfielders with 3 goals. Even more impressively, he leads the team in minutes per goal at 285.3.
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Nyarko on whether he felt close to full fitness. “The past couple weeks I’ve been all in with training and pushing myself and obviously the game fitness and the little time I’m getting here and there helps to build that fitness and helps build that confidence.”
United need to be strong defensively to stop a Montreal attack that is tied for the second-most goals in the league. The Impact frontline is led by Ignacio Piatti and Didier Drogba, both of whom are in the lineup for Thursday’s All-Star game.
“Drogba comes to town, Piatti, two of the best players in the league, so we’ll have our hands full again… we have to be hyper-alert but competitive and play with a little edge,” said Olsen on stopping the Impact’s dynamic duo.
Five of the next six matches for United are at home, and the team will look to use the advantage of the long homestand to remain in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. Sunday’s encounter with Montreal could kick-start momentum going into a stretch of key matches. Coverage begins at 6 PM on NewsChannel 8.
