D.C. United has slumped into a rut over the last few months. But as the regular season creeps toward its end and losses become the club’s most frequent result, the need to pick up points can only increase in importance, no matter the circumstance.
The scenario this weekend, though, combines an array of factors that make it all the more daunting: United will face the Philadelphia Union, the second-place team in the Eastern Conference. The game’s on the road. United will play with just two days of rest following an emotional and physical loss. Captain Wayne Rooney will miss the match thanks to a red-card suspension.