D.C. United’s first game of any kind in 2019 is today, as they face Bethlehem Steel FC in Clearwater, FL. United has never faced the Philadelphia Union’s USL Championship satellite club, but has in the past few years played the Union time and again in preseason matches that tend to come with some bite. The object today, however, is probably to simply work on patterns of play, defensive shape, and building sharpness against a side that will in all likelihood be full of teenagers from the Union academy.
Normally this section is how a player might exploit the opponent’s weaknesses, or be key against their strengths.