Spirit win Challenge Cup, D.C. United win, and more: Monday Freedom Kicks
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Washington Spirit win their first Challenge Cup, beat Orlando on penalties (DP)
Make room for another trophy! The Spirit beat Orlando on penalties to claim the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup. Now, we turn our attention to the start of the season this weekend.
Recap: D.C. United trounces Sporting Kansas City 2-1 in first home win of 2025 (DP)
DC United stormed back from down 1-0 to beat Kansas City 2-1. Christian Benteke and Hosei Kijima scored within 8 minutes of each other to give DC its first win of the season.
Down in Birmingham, Loudoun United opened their season in the USL Championship with a 3-1 win over Birmingham Legion.
DC Power falls to Lexington SC in spring home opener (DP)
Sadly, DC Power is the only local soccer team to lose this weekend, dropping their spring home opener 2-1 to Lexington.
The evolution of DC Power FC’s jersey identity (DP)
Learn about how DC Power has had several jerseys this year but have finally received the ones that they want. Those jerseys were on sale at the match, and now the USL has opened up a small online store for the league that includes some DC Power gear.
Hey Spirits episode: Spirit Fest podcast turducken (DP)
Relive the Hey Spirits interviews from SpiritFest on their latest show!
Dest makes PSV return after nearly 11 months out with ACL tear (PSW)
He’s back! Sergiño Dest returned to onfield action over the weekend, 11 months after an ACL tear. He may not be ready for Nations League, but it’s great to see him back out there.
What else hit your radar from the weekend?
Charles Boehm makes a good point in this article: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/seattle-sounders-show-pathway-columbus-crew-s-concern-more-from-matchday-3
I mean yea. This has been a bit what we expected when the energy drink soccer model was brought to DC. It’s also exactly what we saw last year and Lesesne and Co don’t seem to care. This isn’t me being overly upset, but the lifelong defender in me finds many DC games agonizing to watch.
Yeah, it’s interesting. I wonder how much Levien and co were aware that Redbull soccer is not so much designed to win big, but to game the transfer market for player profile.
It seems like the solution to the Enow problem is pretty simple. Don’t play him.
Peltola on paper seems to complement Kijima’s skillset, and Peglow allows Kijima to play there. Servania also looked a lot more assured out there not partnering Enow last game as a sub.
Basically, let’s stop this. Enow is likely too old to improve his decision making to the extent he would need to.
People are on him for his passing, thing is, I think he’s actually good at passing technique, but he doesn’t pass smart, and his placement is often quite dumb. He’s not bad at carrying the ball, either, but he doesn’t choose the right times.
He’s basically just not very smart, and that hurts every aspect of his game. Maybe his raw ability impresses in training, but against opposition that is professionally trying to destroy him, it’s not working.
Kudos to Kijima for making the midfield good enough that Enow’s decided incompetence stood out so much.
I thought Greg Roche summed Enow up on Blusky perfectly:
“What does Enow bring that Canouse didn’t,” especially at his price point?
Also, have we figured out the proper way to pronounce Enow? I feel like commentators keep switching between E-Now and E-Noh
Would I could green your comment, specifically because Canouse’s competency used to restore my soul
I thought the decision to not renew Canouse would come back to bite us and I think it is.
I think it’s worth pointing out that the club could re-sign Canouse any time they wanted. And for that matter so could any other team. They haven’t.
True, but I’d say that if it’s simply a matter of Russell working hard and adjusting to the surgery, I’m betting on him to do that every day, and twice on Sundays.
Yeah, which is why I think it might not just be simply a matter of that.
Stunned duck also wrote a good bit on Pirani on a previous post, I thought I’d add my own here.
It’s not that Pirani doesn’t have foot skills or passing ability, but, especially on the dribble, the dude is horribly lacking in deception. If you watch great dribblers, you notice how often they fool even the viewer about their intentions, and set up the defender to be flat footed before they blast by them. Pirani, my dude, lie better, you’re just straight up dribbling without doing this.
Finally, some positive, and you better believe it’s about Kijima. He’s the value signing in midfield that MLS rosters need. You need a Diego Chara or Dax McCarty figure who is never going to be a DP, but is going to be a tool for overcoming the margins while not taking up a colossal cap hit.
Honestly, my main fear is that he proves so effective a club in the Championship or something wants him.
Joseph Lowery over at ESPNFC put out their updated Power Rankings this morning. He has moved DCU up to 17th from 25th.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/44190992/mls-power-rankings-inter-miami-stay-top-la-galaxy-free-fall
DC to the moon!
It’s just 3 games into the season, but DCU is sitting in 5th in the East on 5 pts after 3 games. I’d have preferred we’d be sitting on at least 7 if we’d beaten Toronto who still have just that 1 point from the draw.
It just goes to show how vital getting a win now was. These are not well set up teams, this is as easy at it will get all season, particularly with the once a week format still in place.
Yeah, DC has been fairly underwhelming, and the teams they’ve played have also been pretty bad, making their play even more underwhelming. And yet! No losses is not nothing. Benteke scoring in three games straight is not nothing. Getting two goals every game is not nothing.
There’s still a long way to go before we can think about getting into the playoffs, but it’s helpful to not be in the Wooden Spoon territory right away.
I’ve watched other teams play, not many is true, but a couple of other teams not playing against DC. Including the Galaxy, Miami and Atlanta. I haven’t been even whelm by any of them. DC is not alone in the department of not playing “well” at the moment. Are any teams really flowing at the moment? Maybe the Union? I haven’t watch them because I generally don’t like the Union. It is true that Miami finds ways to win and to get red-carded, but considering their roster don’t they fit the criteria of ‘underwhelming’ better than DC?
It’s a good point. I guess I just meant that there hasn’t seemed to be too much to separate us from the other “bottom” teams so far, but we’ve only played the other bottom teams so far. Maybe if we’d played Philly or Columbus or something, we’d have gotten a result there too. Who knows!
If anything, this stretch was really a time to bank points. We’ve done that, but could have probably gotten at least two more.
I don’t disagree that United has a LOT of room for improvement. Particularly when it comes to its defense or lack there of, which I feel has a lot more to do with discipline than anything else and that comes down on the coaching staff. But I am not as put out by their offense as others seem to be. We create chances which is always a plus, we could be more dynamic but I don’t think that we will ever be super dynamic until Benteke is gone. And this of course is not me faulting Benteke, he’s great at what he does and he produces numbers which can’t be argue against. But his presence also limits how the team plays. We often wish the team wasn’t so dependent on Benteke but that is how the system is designed is it not? A lot of folks here harp on Pirani but in many ways I think part of the frustration on his lack of numbers (esp. assists) have to do with the lack of speed and agility of the team in general but particularly Benteke. But it is what it is, Benteke was never known for speed or grace, is not an age thing with him, it is how his body is built. So trying to play a tiki taka style of play with him around is not going to be very successful, and unfortunately that is pretty much how South Americans are train to play.
Personally glad we’re building around the player that has proven effective in MLS, and that is definitely not Pirani.
Peglow has probably shown more promise already, frankly.
I like Peglow too, I just feel like Pirani is the guy everyone likes to pick on. It happens all the time. Difference of opinion. Not the first time I don’t share an opinion with you guys, like for example I don’t get the love for Julian Gressel. He’s talked about like he’s Kyle Walker or something. The dude rarely even picks up his head to look where he’s crossing. He’s just meh. The way I see it, his best moments in DC were when Arriola was sharing the field with him and that had a lot more to do with Arriola than Gressel.
I sometimes feel that Gressel’s loss was sorta overblown, as well, based on comments.
I think we all want to see Pirani come good, but you have to admit, he would have to have a much bigger impact than he’s currently displaying to actually be on Benteke’s level.
But no one is saying he’s on Benteke’s level. Benteke played in the Premier. There’s absolutely no one on this team at Benteke’s level. All I’m saying is that he’s not as bad as people believe he is. He may not be the best fit for the system we are playing but I think the dude actually is trying to fit into the system.
Well, sure, but how many seasons does he have to try? He’s gotten plenty of chances as a central playmaker in a 4-2-3-1 for a professional soccer team, and that’s a role and situation many players would kill to occupy.
“Trying” and “not being as bad as” a commentariat says that wants him to do well is not the bar. If he’s not going to run the offense and impact the league, he’s going to be gone soon.
I’m not rooting for him to fail, but he simply currently isn’t meeting standards. And I will be dry eyed if he departs having not shown more than he has shown.
We are currently second in team xG, according to MLSsoccer.com.
That’s impressive, but where are we on converting those xGs?
No current DCU players in teams of the matchday, but Andy Najar made it.https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/team-of-the-matchday-inter-miami-st-louis-city-close-matchday-3-with-a-bang