GERMANTOWN, Md. -- D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn faced a tricky task in his team's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup opener against the Rochester Rhinos on Tuesday night.
Much of his squad was dinged and drained from an intense league match against David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy on Sunday afternoon. But the club is keen to make some noise in the 2008 USOC after last season's disappointing crashout, and Rochester's visit to United's home away from home, the Maryland Soccerplex, clearly presented a potential banana peel for D.C.
So Soehn took a measured gamble, giving his reserves a chance to make an impression while mixing in a bit of quality from the first team. For three-quarters of the match, the results of his gambit were obscured by the Rhinos' workmanlike resistance -- and some patchy performances from his own side.
"It wasn't the prettiest game. By no means," said Soehn after United's 2-0 escape. "We put a lot of energy into the game on Sunday and we tried to limit how many guys we had out there from that game, and tried to manage through it."
Fatigue even haunted a striker who hasn't worn his United uniform for weeks. Francis Doe finally returned from African World Cup qualifying duty over the weekend, but was less than fresh in his first-ever 90-minute match for D.C.
"I'm still tired because of the flight, because it was like a 14-hour flight," admitted the Liberian international.
But as is often the case when squads from different levels meet in the Open Cup, a flash of top-class quality won the day for United as Marc Burch put one of Major League Soccer's most fearsome left feet to good use, netting two late free kicks to deliver a D.C. win.
"He can hit a ball like nobody's business and he did a good job," said Soehn of his young defender. "Anytime it's a little moist out there, you hit them hard and low. One was a deflection, but he hits it with so much pace you're not sure where it's going. It's a real asset for us."
Against the Galaxy, Burch made his way onto many highlight reels with an effort that didn't even find the net as he cracked a long-distance free kick off the woodwork in the match's late going. On Tuesday night, a different tack helped him outsmart Rochester 'keeper Scott Vallow, who had an otherwise remarkable night in goal with five saves.
"I was sick of hitting the crossbar, so I hit it low," joked Burch. "It seemed like we were controlling the play, we were knocking it around, and we looked good out there, but we weren't really getting any real chances. ... So I figured a free kick or a rebound or something was going to be how someone was going to score."
As Soehn was quick to acknowledge, some of D.C.'s young reserves underwhelmed, but for all their hard running, the Rhinos were unable to exploit the few openings they crafted.
"More or less, they were playing a lot of balls over the top," said Soehn. "I don't know that that unsettled us -- I think there were stretches of the game where we didn't knock it around well enough, and coughed it up in spots."
United will now have a longer respite before hosting the Chicago Fire in am Open Cup quarterfinal match at the Soccerplex in a week's time, as United look to avenge the Fire's 3-0 victory in the 2006 Open Cup semifinals.
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