Last night's 2-1 victory over the Richmond Kickers in the 2012 U.S. Open Cup was big for D.C. United. Likewise, it was big for the Black And Red United community. Hundreds of United fans were furiously refreshing their Twitter feeds while also actively following along in our GameThread, as hosted by our own Benuski, who was live-blogging from the press box at Richmond's City Stadium to make up for the fact that there was no video or audio coverage of the game.

Much like United's, Ben's performance was not without flaw though. When Marcelo Saragosa scored the winning goal off a corner kick by Branko Boskovic, the following is a thing that actually happened.

Were this the third goal of a 3-0 win, we would have chuckled and moved on. Had the goal been created by any player other than Boskovic, we would have chuckled and moved on. Autocorrecting Salihi to Salient or some shit wouldn't have had the same impact. It had to be Boskovic, and it had to be Bodkin.

Instead of coming from any other player at any other time, it came in the second overtime period of a match that seemed certainly headed for penalties, with United facing a possibly interspecial goalkeeper that had thwarted chance after chance over the course of the game. It came while United fans were watching in equal parts delight and insecurity as other MLS teams were dropping like niells to lesser opponents across the country. A wave of anxiety was sweeping the D.C. region, building greater by the minute.

That anxiety was funneled from our sweaty brows through the underground tubes of the internet all the way to the connection between Ben's fingertips and his mobile device, eclipsing in a single word: Bodkin. An Autocorrect that shall never be forgotten.

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The quest to add lucky No. 13 to the D.C. United trophy case begins tonight. In a competition designed to distinguish the greatest men's soccer club at any level in the United States, the black-and-red will face the Richmond Kickers on the road tonight. The winner of this match will move on to face the winner of the Philadelphia Union vs. the Rochester Rhinos.

Game time: 7:00 PM

Television: None. If you can't head down south on weeknight to attend the match, your best bet will be to follow along on Twitter and here in the GameThread comments as our own Benuski will be reporting live on site from the press box (assuming of course that southern Virginia has WiFi, I'm not quite sure).

Projected starting lineup: We're pretty confident that Joe Willis will start in goal, and that the back line will consist of Daniel Woolard, Emiliano Dudar, Ethan White, and Chris Korb. The rest of the lineup is highly debatable though. I'm predicting Nick DeLeon and Andy Najar on the wings, with Stephen King and Perry Kitchen in the middle, and with Maicon Santos and Josh Wolff up top.

Prediction: Maybe I'm overly optimistic, hopefully I'm not, but barring some kind of disastrous mistake, I just don't see a lower-level club scoring on Dudar/White/Willis. Nor do I see a lower-level club shutting out MFS. I'm predicting a slow start for a lineup that isn't really used to playing together, but United pulling away 2-0 in the second half.

What are you drinking? Newcastle

This is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion. Follow along with us virtually.

Other than the season opener against Sporting Kansas City, which we'll continue to write off as part of Ben Olsen's extended preseason, Maicon Santos has only appeared twice for D.C. United as a substitute off the bench. Once in the draw at home against the Montreal Impact, and then again in Saturday night's 3-2 win over the New England Revolution. Santos scored both times. His energy of the bench is almost solely responsible for three United points. Bringing a big hard-working forward into a the late stages of a close match against a tired defense has worked twice for United, and there's no reason to believe that it won't work again. That's why I'm starting to believe that our preferred starting forward pairing after the summer break won't include Santos, but not because he isn't worthy of a starting job. Just because he's so effing good off the bench.

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Three games, nine points, first place.

That's what every home stand should look like for D.C. United. Ben Olsen has made a point of stressing the "Take Back RFK" message to his team, and they've taken it to heart. United is now undefeated in D.C. since the season opening loss to Sporting Kansas City.

Now we just have to hope that that streak will continue two hours south to Richmond also.

Here's what the local media are saying about United's 3-1 win over the New England Revolution.

Floyd: "I wasn’t worried," defender Brandon McDonald said. "It was weird because last year, they get two goals, we’re going to lose this game 5-2. This year, our guys have been so good at just keeping themselves composed and knowing it’s going to come." ... Despite his team’s position atop the table, coach Ben Olsen still was far from satisfied, pointing to a lack of sharpness on the ball and the defensive breakdowns that led to goals by New England’s Saer Sene and A.J. Soares. Whether it was an impressive performance from United was debatable. The notch in the win column, though, was not.

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In the first half, the difference between D.C. United and the New England Revolution was set pieces. Possession was roughly equivalent. The chances created from the run of play were roughly equivalent. But two goals from two United center backs had D.C. up 2-0 entering halftime while in the processing of taking back both RFK and first place in the Eastern Conference. It was as if Dejan Jakovic and Brandon McDonald had each concluded that one of them was about to lose his job to Emiliano Dudar, and they each wanted to make a big play to try to hold down the other central defensive position. They both did.

In the second half, things changed just a bit.

The Revolution got two quick goals, with the first coming from Saer Sene on a rebound from a Benny Feilhaber strike. It was all the result of a patented McDonald-long-ball-to-no-one after Chris Korb had already moved up the field into our 3-5-2 attacking formation. That left one side of the field wide open, and Sene likewise open at the back post.

Minutes later, the A.J. Soares goal was a nice play, and its not something I want to discredit. Soares got a good touch to redirect the ball into a spot where no one could defend it. But the goal was avoidable because the corner kick leading to the goal was avoidable. It involved Blake Brettschneider doing the hard work up top as a target forward. United fans will remember that Brettschneider was cut by United in the preseason precisely because Ben Olsen didn't see him as enough of a competent target forward. The Soares goal made me long for the return of Maicon Santos. The hard work to pressure defenders, win possession, and generate turnovers was exactly what United had been missing up until that point.

Olsen agreed. Santos emerged just 10 minutes later.

The result was decided at that exact moment. Santos had no intention of losing this match.

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Following today's rematch with the New England Revolution, D.C. United gets a well-earned three-week break from MLS action. Hopefully there will be more than just one U.S. Open Cup match during that break, but regardless of that, no team wants to enter an extended break with a loss as its most recent result. Or even a home draw. No, you want to enter a break with a win.

United has already defeated the Revolution once this year, and there's no reason to think that the team won't do it again here tonight. It could be argued that both teams have improved since that last meeting, but only one team has improved so much as to now being capable of claiming first place in the Eastern Conference with a win. That team is United, and first place is the goal.

Game time: 7:30 PM

Television: Nada. This is one of only a small handful of matches without local TV coverage. So your options are limited to attending the match at RFK Stadium (that's what you should be doing), watching on MLS Live (that's what I'll be doing), or subscribing to your cable company's Direct Kick package. If none of those are enticing, you can follow along with the conversation here, but we won't be sharing any illegal links per SB Nation policy.

Projected starting lineup: Coming off two-straight home wins and with a good chance to claim a third, we shouldn't expect to see many changes to Ben Olsen's current preferred lineup. While Olsen may elect to use this opportunity to work early-season MVP contenders Emiliano Dudar and Maicon Santos back in the starting lineup since both are listed as probable, I think we're more likely to see the status quo. That will mean a back line of Daniel Woolard, Brandon McDonald, Dejan Jakovic, and Chris Korb, with Bill Hamid retaining his starting job despite Joe Willis' return to full health. Its not improbable that either Chris Pontius or Nick DeLeon will be back on the field at left midfield, but I think they'll probably both be on the bench instead, with a possibility of returning as a late substitute. Instead, Lewis Neal and Andy Najar will occupy the wide roles with Branko Boskovic and Perry Kitchen in the middle. Dwayne De Rosario and Hamdi Salihi will start up top.

Prediction: Although the Revolution will be the best offensive team that United has faced in several weeks, Hamid and his line will still be up for the challenge. I'm looking for United to expand on their victory from earlier in the year and finish with a 3-1 win.

What are you drinking? Definitely not Sam Adams, tea, or anything else Boston-related. I'll be rushing home from a party at my brother-in-law's house to hopefully catch the kickoff, and if I know my brother, I'll probably be drinking Corona most of the day.

This is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion.

Much has changed for D.C. United since they last defeated the New England Revolution 2-1 just over a month ago. At that time, the team was in the midst of a seven game undefeated streak, and yet even though United has lost twice since then, fans are feeling even more confident about their team's overall prospects.

To preview Saturday's match at RFK Stadium, we reached out to Steve Stoehr of The Bent Musket to learn what has changed with the Revolution since these two teams last met. Here's what he said:

TBM: The biggest change for this team since the last encounter has been confidence. Honestly, the Revs take the field nowadays and they expect to get a result. They may have a losing record, but this is a team that does not play tentatively, does not give too much respect to its opponents, and does not expect to lose. There were times last season where you just felt as though there was no chance someone would score. You could tell that no one was in the right position, no one's finishing was on point, it was just eleven guys desperately chasing a ball, and whenever a goal was scored, it was a surprise. This season, when the Revs get in the box, you're expecting a shot. You're expecting it on target. And you're even expecting a goal. That feeling has only gotten stronger since D.C. came to Gillette.

Steve sent me five questions in return. To hear what's changed for United, keep reading.

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I'm starting to believe that Branko Boskovic's sole reason for life on this planet is to confuse us into indecision. Less than a week ago, it was a forgone conclusion that he would be heading back to Europe as soon as early July. With three partial MLS seasons on his resume, Boskovic had no goals and no assists, right up until his free kick assist to Dwayne De Rosario in the first minute of United's win over Toronto FC on Saturday. Now, rather than debating how the team would be best served to spend Boskovic's $525,000 annual salary that would soon be freed up, we're wondering instead if perhaps there's something different we can do with that money. Perhaps that money would be best allocated towards renewing the Montenegran midfielder's contract.

It's been over a year since the predecessor to this headline. At that time, we were wondering why Ben Olsen was continually leaving Boskovic out of the lineup. Earlier this season, we didn't have to wonder anymore. He was playing timid. He was ceding possession too often for a player of his supposed caliber, and unable to create chances for his teammates. During his limited time on the field early in the 2012 season, Boskovic made very little impact.

As his playing time increased, that quickly changed. We could argue with stats that Boskovic was helping the team win, but we don't even have to. In both of his starts last week, Boskovic gave United something the team hasn't gotten from other players this year, and I'm not just talking about his set pieces. Boskovic's positioning and vision was as originally advertised and expected, giving De Rosario the ability to roam freely around the attacking third. That's where DeRo is at his best. That's where he's most productive.

If one of Boskovic's assets is that he allows DeRo to be DeRo, his contract might be a bargain.

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We set the over/under on Dwayne De Rosario goals against Toronto FC in May at 2.5. If you took the under, you cashed, but you were definitely sweating. De Rosario scored two goals in the first half for D.C. United, continuing his streak of punishing former teams. The veteran's first goal was headed with power off a free kick, and the second goal was due to a nice run to simply finish off a great cross. That wasn't it though. De Rosario's high work rate was evident all over the field. This was an MVP caliber performance from the defending MVP.

By my count, D.C. United has 16 field players who are good enough to be regular starters. In 2010, that number was probably six. Chris Korb was added to that list this week. The versatile second-year-player is giving Ben Olsen real difficult decisions, and that's a good thing for fans to hear. Korb has been playing well enough to start either on the left or the right side of the back line. Without this development, seeing three center backs going down to injury would have been even more painful for the team. Korb has played all 90 minutes in four straight games now for United, and it won't be easy for Olsen to tell him to take a seat after he's been such a constant force in defense. But his perfectly-weighted pass inches around a Toronto defender, out of the reach of Milos Kocic, and straight to the foot of De Rosario was even more impressive.

But Korb's play wasn't actually the most impressive of the match though. That title goes to Andy Najar, who combined with Hamdi Salihi for the critical third goal, just when it appeared that the match may have been starting to slip away. Running at opponents and cutting to the end line has become a new trademark move for Najar, and the low cross to the on-rushing Salihi right at the six-yard line was really nice. On a day that De Rosario scored twice, its unthinkable to imagine that Najar may have actually been our Man Of The Match, but its true. His performance on the right flank on Saturday night was the kind of improvement from his 2010 Rookie Of The Year form that we've been waiting to see. Salihi also showed once again why he unquestionably deserves a designated player contract. He always seems to know just where to be.

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Attention Canada! I am Barney from America, and I am here to fix your backward ass country. Number one, get real money. Don't know what board game this came from, but it's a joke. Number two, and this is the biggy, quit letting awesome [soccer players], like [Dwayne De Rosario], get away. Because guess what? You don't want [him]? I'm planting my flag in [him], if you know what I mean, which you probably don't, and getting the hell outta here. You may now return to being pointless.

(How I Met Your Mother, season 5, episode 5)

They say that 0-8-0 is the most dangerous record in soccer. I don't know who "They" is, but I'm pretty sure its been said before. If it hasn't, then I'm saying it for the first time now. And I'm also lying.

Toronto FC hasn't won or tied a single game in 2012. They are literally pointless. Just like their country.

Game time: 7:30 PM

Television: Comcast SportsNet

Projected starting lineup: Tonight's lineup for D.C. United is tougher to predict than other lineups have been recently. Not because the team is struggling to fill gaps left by injuries, but because players are suddenly getting healthy. I agree with Benuski that Dejan Jakovic will return to the starting lineup for this match, but not Emiliano Dudar quite yet. Jakovic will allow Daniel Woolard to move back to the left, with the suddenly reliable Chris Korb shifting the right and Brandon McDonald staying in the middle. Bill Hamid will be in goal. Ben Olsen has some tough choices to make in the front six, other than Perry Kitchen. Will he rest some healthy veterans? I'm predicting Andy Najar on the left and Danny Cruz on the right, with Branko Boskovic getting another start in the middle. Dwayne De Rosario and Hamdi Salihi will stay up top.

Prediction: Although Toronto is better than their record (I guess they couldn't possibly be worse), I expect the same result as the last time these two teams met. That would mean a 2-0 victory for D.C. United.

What are you drinking? I'll be on the road back from taking my little girl to Sesame Place, so I'll probably be drinking coffee from some Wawa. But Benuski will making his RFK Stadium press box debut tonight, so join him in the comments thread.

This is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion.

The last time that D.C. United faced off with Toronto FC, the Reds were desperate because they had yet to earn a point during the MLS regular season. Much has changed for both teams since then, but that fact certainly hasn't. TFC has yet to earn a win or tie so far this season, and they're desperately hoping to change that at RFK Stadium on Saturday.

Since it was just two weeks ago that United earned a 2-0 win in Toronto, and just two weeks since we exchanged three questions with Duncan Fletcher of Waking The Red ahead of that match, we asked just one question to SB Nation's resident TFC expert this time around: What's changed?

WTR: What's changed? Actually quite a bit. That defeat and the very defensive way TFC played in that game seemed to lead to a bit of an existential crisis, and the most depressing set of post game interviews ever. Since then though, after a clear the air meeting, we're on a 2 week unbeaten streak, knocked Montreal out of the Voyageurs Cup, and came within an Eric Hassli injury time wondergoal of keeping a second consecutive clean sheet. Even with that goal, TFC got a 1-1 tie in the away leg of the final, with the return leg going this upcoming wednesday. If only we didn't have to think of this whole league thing.

A big part of that success is the potential (too early to tell just yet) fixing of the biggest problem they've had all year, centre backs. The Montreal game was the first time Adrian Cann got paired with 19 year old Doneil Henry, and they looked quite good together. The Vancouver game was the first time in a long time we played the same cb partnership in 2 straight games, and again, it worked nicely. They'll hopefully be together again against DC, and I guess we'll see how they do in an MLS game.

There's also been a bit of a shuffle in the coaching ranks, with Aron Winter's right hand man Bob de Klerk moving from assistant coach to a vague "Technical manager" position amid our already bloated management structure, and former player and captain Jim Brennan moving from under 17 academy coach to assistant manager. There's all sorts of theories about what it all means, why it happened, if this is the beginning of the end, a compromise to delay the end, or a strengthening of his position for Winter. I'm not entirely happy with it, and think it'll weaken the first team, but I guess time will tell.

Torsten Frings took shots in his shoulder to play against Montreal, then had to miss the game against Vancouver because his shoulder felt like shit, so who knows if he'll play on Saturday, but Danny Koevermans is back from injury, he came off the bench on Wednesday and may well get the start up front. And that's about it really.

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We went into the 2012 season thinking that Dwayne De Rosario and Hamdi Salihi were going to score the majority of goals for the club. De Rosario was coming off an MVP season that finally saw him get the paycheck he deserved, and Salihi entered with a goal-scoring record that rivals only Jaime Moreno.

Since then though, we've seen other players step up. We've seen Maicon Santos and Chris Pontius battle for the team lead in goals while being unexpectedly named the top forward pairing by Ben Olsen. We've also seen rookie Nick DeLeon prove to the league that he was taken far too late in the first round of the MLS Draft by adding three goals of his own.

So what happens to D.C. United then when all three of those player go down injured? The stars show us why they're stars. That's what happened against the Colorado Rapids tonight at RFK Stadium. De Rosario and Salihi each secured goals, with United claiming three points in a 2-0 victory.

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Okay I'll admit it. I'm totally scared of the Colorado Rapids.

They're a team built to punish unorganized defenses, especially those that have already played an emotionally draining match previously in the week. Its almost as if Conor Casey has spent the last 10 months in his lair plotting his return, and picked this very game. And if that weren't enough, young Argentine playmaker Martin Rivero will roam the space that a healthy Perry Kitchen normally would have been defending.

I'll tell you that I'm scared of the Rapids. I'll also leave it up to you whether or not that implies reverse psychology.

Game time: 7:30 PM

Television: Comcast SportsNet

Projected starting lineup: We should finally see Ethan White get his first start of the year tonight next to Brandon McDonald in central defense. Although Ben Olsen might choose to rest Robbie Russell, I think he'll probably still start on the right, with Daniel Woolard moving from the middle back to the left. The attacking portion of the midfield is likely to remain unchanged, with Andy Najar on the left, Dwayne De Rosario in the middle, and Danny Cruz on the right. In place of Kitchen, I see Olsen sticking with Stephen King over Kurt Morsink, but that decision could easily go either way. Against the mediocre Colorado back line, while managing minutes, I could see Olsen giving his assistant Josh Wolff a start next to Maicon Santos, to still give Hamdi Salihi the chance to come off the bench. Bill Hamid will be in goal.

Prediction: I'm scared of the Rapids. And I think United might be due for a rare resounding defeat. 3-1 Colorado is my prediction. Reverse psychology? You be the judge.

What are you drinking? I'm actually at an unfortunately-timed office teambuilding event tonight, so I doubt I'll be drinking anything much heavier than Miller Lite. I'll join you guys a bit later on.

This is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion.

For a deeper preview of D.C. United's upcoming match against the Colorado Rapids, be sure to check out the latest episode of our podcast Filibuster in which UZ from Burgundy Wave appeared for a full segment. But for now, here's a three-question exchange with UZ to get you ready for tomorrow night.

B&RU: After making two appearances off the bench so far, it sounds like Conor Casey is set to get his first start in 10 months on Wednesday. What should we expect from him?

BW: He looked fabulous in his first two cameo appearances with the team, playing 46 minutes over the course of the last two games he appeared in. (He was held out of the Rapids game against New England because they didn't want to risk his return getting ruined on that FieldTurf.) Even though he's coming off a serious Achilles Tear, he's never been a speedster so we're not worried about him losing much. All he does is park himself in front of the near post and wait for the service to come, eating space and defenders as he goes to free up other guys to take more open shots -- he did all that wonderfully in his appearances, so you'll probably be seeing the same old Conor Casey that you're used to seeing on Wednesday. Casey should at least play 45 minutes of the match if he doesn't start - though I don't think Oscar Pareja will want to take the chance of leaving his best striker on the bench for so long - so either way you'll be seeing a hefty dose of him.

For those of us east coasters who haven't seen a lot of the Rapids yet this year, tell us about your two new international midfielders Martin Rivera and Jaime Castrillon.

Rivero has been a breath of fresh air for the team, since we haven't had a true midfield attacking stalwart since Terry Cooke back in 2008. He has played well above his age and looks like a real team leader out there with immaculate passes and a bullet of a shot. Everything you'd expect from a 'True #10' player, Rivero has done. We're excited too because he's only 22 years old and still has room to grow, and if he keeps growing into the player we've seen he can be, we could end up with one of the best attacking players in the league. Not bad for an unknown kid from Argentina.

Castrillon has been a bit streaky, but has played the role of versatile midfielder well. He works best going from box to box, similar to a more attack minded Pablo Mastroeni. He has also been one of the few guys to get in the way on set pieces and put in the headers with Casey out of the line up. The only complaint for Jaime so far is that he has disappeared from a couple of games completely, but that's to be expected from a guy trying to get used to a new league. Both Rivero and Castrillon have played their way into starting positions for sure, and for a team looking to be a far more attack minded group this year, that's a good thing.

All of the talk about the Rapids has revolved around the team's surprising new "sexy" attacking style, but not much has said about the defense. How has Matt Pickens and Colorado back line done so far this year?

They've done a lot better than the statistics would lead you to believe. Pickens in particular has had a great year considering his mediocre 2011 season, controlling the defense well and making saves that you'd usually expect from Nick Rimando and Kevin Hartman types more than Matt Pickens types. The defense has allowed quite a few goals but the majority of them have been from set pieces, which were a very, very big problem early in the season. In the Rapids biggest loss, 4-1 to New York, the midfield was full of injuries so the makeshift group of three in the middle screwed up royally more than the defense which led to the goals. The defense has left us no reasons to worry about it the last couple of seasons since Drew Moor came aboard, and we're still not worried this time around. It helps that the team has finally started to listen to Pickens and figure out how to defend on set pieces recently, of course.

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In unexpected but totally welcomed news, D.C. United announced on Twitter today that the results of the MRI on Perry Kitchen's knee came back negative. All of his CL's are just fine, and there is no major damage. He'll be listed as Questionable on the team's injury report.

According to Steven Goff, both Kitchen and Chris Pontius are at RFK Stadium for practice today. They could be available for selection against the Colorado Rapids tomorrow night, depending on training today.

This is a huge bullet evaded by United. The performance of the team with Kitchen on Saturday against the Houston Dynamo was so different from the performance without him. I was honestly very worried that Kitchen's injury would be the turning point of our season. Instead, its just a rude awakening. A warning of how quickly things can change. Kitchen is quickly climbing the chart of the best defensive midfielders in MLS, and is one of United's most important players. With him, we're a championship contender. Without him, we're fighting for a playoff spot.

The only other time that I can think of that I was this happy about D.C. United news in the middle of a random weekday was the signing of Charlie Davies last February. What a relief.

D.C. United has now used three different emergency partners for Brandon McDonald in central defense. Well Daniel Woolard has confirmed that he's the most competent of the three. Although we're all still hoping he won't have to play there many more times this year. McDonald and Woolard were each very good at reactive defending, cutting out many chances that the Houston Dynamo created. McDonald was also Dudaresque in his ability to step up and anticipate a few plays before they developed. Starting in Woolard's spot on the left, Chris Korb gave his best performance of the season, rendering the speed Calen Carr ineffective and coming up big on a few headers in the box.

Andy Najar reminded me of the player he was replacing on the left wing. He was United's main source of aggression, always pushing the team forward, and creating some decent chances, although his teammates always seemed to let him down in the final third. Najar has been a productive player for three straight matches now, and may be the next United player to join the list of guys who stepped up and claimed a starting spot when the chance presented itself. Its happened several times already this season. And it will be hard for Olsen to put Najar back on the bench.

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We spent this week wondering why the national media was underrating D.C. United so much. Why was this team getting so little credit for averaging three goals in its last four matches? For having only one loss in nine matches? Were we the only ones that noticed?

The D.C. fanbase had collectively agreed that United was sitting at or near the top of the second tier in MLS. Just a bit of consistency away from Real Salt Lake. A healthy center back away from the San Jose Earthquakes. Were we wrong?

For 28 minutes, we weren't wrong. For 28 minutes, United looked superior to the Houston Dynamo in their brand new BBVA Compass Stadium. For 28 minutes, it looked like we might steal the show. But then, disaster struck. It struck the knee of the player that had been the best wearing black to that point. For the second United/Dynamo match in a row, D.C. lost its most important defensive player to an injury. First Emiliano Dudar, and now Perry Kitchen.

This part of the schedule has been tough for D.C. United. And it doesn't get immediately easier either. On only three day's rest, United will be facing a Colorado Rapids team on Wednesday that hasn't taken the field for 10 days. Not a good time to have three of your four most important players out injured. Its enough to make a man want to lock Dwayne De Rosario in a padded cell.

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D.C. United has lost just once in its last nine matches, and that was on the road against the new favorites to win the Supporters Shield. For that success to continue, it will take quite a bit of effort. It will take the kind of intensity and scoring prowess that helped United defeat the Houston Dynamo just two weeks ago.

The Dynamo are opening their brand new BBVA Compass Stadium today. Houston fans have long suffered without a true home of their own, and they deserve this. They deserve to be happy. Wait, no they don't. Only we deserve to be happy. Let's ruin their moment.

Game time: 4:30 PM

Television: NBC Sports Network

Projected starting lineup: Even though Ethan White has returned to full training, my read is that he'll sit out today while he still works his way back, and that United will instead stick with a variation of what worked against Toronto FC, with Daniel Woolard accompanying Brandon McDonald in the middle again. Chris Korb will remain on the left while Robbie Russell will return to the right, allowing Andy Najar to move up to the midfield. That will allow Danny Cruz to shift to the left wing. The rest of the lineup will be unchanged, with Dwayne De Rosario and Perry Kitchen in central midfield, Chris Pontius and Maicon Santos up top, and Bill Hamid in goal.

Prediction: The experts can pick whoever they want. We know that this United team is one of the four best in the league, and they'll show it again today. 3-1 United.

What are you drinking? I will most definitely not be drinking Blue Moon or Shock Top or any other beer that involves a certain citrus, and neither will you. This is an orange-free zone today. Instead, based on Alex O's recommendation, I am drinking Port City Brewing's Porter, which I was happily surprised to find in a liquor store in Waldorf.

This is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion.

D.C. United is facing a familiar opponent this Saturday. Just three weeks removed from United's 3-2 defeat of the Houston Dynamo at RFK Stadium, the two teams are squaring off again. This time though, its happening on unfamiliar terrain - at the Dynamo's new BBVA Compass Stadium.

But rather than our usual tri-question exchange between SB Nation bloggers, we're going in a different direction. After all, we just did that. So we just asked one question of Zach Woosley of the Dynamo Theory this week: How will this match be different from the last? Here's his answer.

The Dynamo team you see this weekend will look and feel much the same as they did two weekends ago, yet things will be very different. The difference of course won't be in terms of players or lineups, but simple the venue. It's the long awaited home opener for the Dynamo at their brand new "temple de futbol" BBVA Compass Stadium. The fans are excited, the players are excited, it's going to be a big day and the pressure will be on for Houston to get a win.

Therein lies the difficulty.

Houston has been making consistent mistakes in the defense for the last couple matches and I'm worried the additional emotions and stress from the home opener could make things worse. Of course it's always difficult to predict how a team will react to a situation like this so I could be completely off base.

The biggest difference in terms of personnel will be Brad Davis being back in the lineup. He played a little against D.C. the first time, went 90 minutes against the Red Bulls and should finally be getting back to his normal self come this weekend. He was a little out of sync on Wednesday night but I think that had more to do with rust than anything. Brian Ching was rested so he'll be fired up and looking to put on a show in the new stadium.

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When Hamdi Salihi scored his first MLS goal on Wednesday night, I described his finish as "far more difficult than evident at first glance." That wasn't true about his goal on Saturday against Toronto FC. Salihi's goal was exactly as difficult as it looked. A leaping horizontal scissor kick into the far side netting? Yes please! Try it again and we'll trademark it as the Hamdi!

D.C. United didn't have many options at central defense. Three of the team's top four center backs were out injured. The normal emergency replacement is 32 years old and just played 90 minutes earlier in the week. So to partner with Brandon McDonald, Ben Olsen turned to left back Daniel Woolard, and he wouldn't regret it. Woolard and McDonald ensured that no TFC attacker went unmarked in the box. They won all their aerial challenges, and forced Toronto to take low-percentage long-distance shots only, all of which Bill Hamid was capable of handling. Hamid proved why he was considered the undisputed No. 1 goalkeeper in preseason, and why he soon will be again.

It was quite refreshing seeing the quantity and quality of work that Perry Kitchen put in on Saturday night. After his entirely underwhelming performance in central defense during the midweek match against the San Jose Earthquakes, it was a relief for all involved to see Kitchen come right back with the steady and improving performance we've gotten used to seeing from him in central midfield. Kitchen was great, moving all over the field to shut down Toronto attacks before they developed, and controlling the midfield with apparent ease.

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This had the clear makings of a trap game for D.C. United. After scoring three or more goals in three straight games, including two wins over good Eastern Conference teams, a victory against the lowly and literally pointless Toronto FC seemed assured. We'd been looking forward to this game.

In previous years though, this may have been a game that would turn out more difficult than expected. In a way, it did. TFC was just starting to get healthy, and managed to keep the powerful D.C. attack off the scoreboard in the first half. But in the end, the better team prevailed.

Via goals for Chris Pontius (his sixth of the season) and Hamdi Salihi (his second straight game with a score), D.C. United defeated Toronto FC 2-0. The unexpected but not uncomposed back line of Andy Najar, Brandon McDonald, Daniel Woolard, and Chris Korb shut down and shut out the TFC attackers to keep the clean sheet.

Many questioned the lineup choices of Ben Olsen today, but all those choices paid off. Najar did well in defense while also getting far forward when the opportunity was available, and Woolard looked far more comfortable in the middle than Robbie Russell had in the previous match (although the opponent should be considered).

The return of Bill Hamid to the starting lineup was also a significant move. Even though the big goalkeeper didn't have to make many highlight reel worthy saves, he had total control of his box for the entire match. There was never a question in my mind that he would be in the right position or make the right decision on a play. Doubts had started to register in our minds about Joe Willis after his past two games, but Hamid leaves us with no doubts. He's given up only one goal in two starts now for United, and that one goal came in stoppage time against the best team in the league.

Congratulations Hamid, you've earned your job back.

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I think we can all agree that Wednesday's night D.C. United match against the San Jose Earthquakes was one of the toughest we'll face all year. Across the country on short rest. The highest-scoring team in the league against a decimated defense? A loss wasn't shocking on Wednesday. A loss would be shocking today.

The defense is still decimated and United is still coming off a cross-country flight on short rest, but the opponent is different. Toronto FC is in last place in the Eastern Conference, and has yet to collect a single MLS point.

We can get over Wednesday's loss pretty quickly. Anything less than three points today would be regrettable. In order to stay on pace in the East, United should aim to average 1.5 points per game. That means today's match is just short of a must-win.

Game time: 4:00 PM

Television: Comcast SportsNet Plus

Projected starting lineup: Since United used the healthiest version of what's been the team's best 11 on Wednesday, we should expect a few changes this afternoon. We think that may mean Bill Hamid finally returning between the pipes. The most likely back line consists of Daniel Woolard, Brandon McDonald, Robbie Russell, and Chris Korb, with Perry Kitchen ahead of them in defensive midfield. The top five could go in a couple different directions, but I'm predicting Nick DeLeon and Andy Najar on the wings, Dwayne De Rosario in the middle, and Maicon Santos and Hamdi Salihi up top.

Prediction: An early goal is vital in this match. More than other matches even. An early goal might cripple the weak TFC back line. From there, United could run away with this match. That's what this team needs to do, and that's my prediction. D.C. wins 3-1 with Santos, De Rosario, and Najar all scoring.

What are you drinking? Sam Adams Alpine Spring

This is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion.

After facing the best team in MLS on Wednesday night, D.C. United now pays a visit to the worst team in MLS. Toronto FC has yet to earn a single point this year, leaving them desperate and hungry. To prepare for the match, we exchanged questions with SB Nation's TFC blogger Duncan Fletcher from Waking The Red.

B&RU: Is Toronto FC aware that they need to score at least as many goals as their opponents in order to gain points in the standings? Have they been trying to figure out other ways to gain points in the standings since they've been unable to score at least as many goals as their opponents so far in 2012?

WTR: You North Americans have no idea. All that talk of stats, goals, points. It's sad really. Aron Winter's playing on a whole other level than you guys. Soon there'll be a bunch of Canadian teenagers talking Dutch and running rings around you all and you'll have no idea what happened. Total Football! Whoo!

Or perhaps, maybe, yet another foreign coach is slowly realizing MLS is a lot harder than they thought. Could be either one really.

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Dwayne De Rosario continues to improve each week, and was the best player on the field wearing white Saturday night. He opened up the high-scoring match with a wonderfully placed ball into the upper near corner of the net, beating a diving Jon Busch. De Rosario added two more assists to his tally that now has him on top of the league in that statistic.

The soon-to-be only designated players remaining on United's roster combined for United's final goal of the night as the team tried its best to mount a comeback and overcome the mistakes that the defense had made throughout the match. Hamdi Salihi's finish was far more difficult than evident at first glance, timing his run perfectly. He showed the quality we've been waiting to see all year. Hopefully he can show it every week.

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I'm willing to concede that this just wasn't our night.

And that's okay, I guess. It's disappointing, but it doesn't change our overall outlook on the season. It doesn't change what we think this D.C. United team can accomplish when all is said and done.

In United's 5-3 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, we learned tonight that our back line isn't very good without its two best center backs. Actually, we already knew that. Actually that statement is probably true about most soccer teams that have ever taken the field.

If we learned anything tonight, its that the Earthquakes are the best team in MLS at this time. I'm a believer now. I may hate Steven Lenhart (we all should), but I respect the hell out of San Jose's attacking ability.

United were only the second team this season to score more than one goal on the Earthquakes, and the team deserves credit for that. The offense also deserves credit for fighting through to the final whistle. Dwayne De Rosario doesn't quit. And neither, apparently, does Hamdi Salihi. If Salihi's goal in the dying stages of this match does indeed open up the floodgates for him as we've been predicting for some time, the loss will be worth it.

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D.C. United has been somewhat fortunate this year so far. The team has faced many opponents who were less than full strength, missing at least one of their top players. Tonight, we'll be able to add excellent Honduran center back Victor Bernardez to the list that already includes David Ferreira, Shalrie Joseph, Rafael Marquez, and Brad Davis. Had C.J. Sapong and Robbie Keane been injured, we might still be undefeated right now. The San Jose Earthquakes have adjusted well so far to his injury absence though. With two games in four days, will United be able to adjust similarly well to the injury absence of Emiliano Dudar?

Game time: 10:30 PM

TV: CSN Plus. Find it on your cable network here. Or you can watch on MLS Live as the local blackout has been lifted.

Projected starting lineup: Its hard to say. The last time that United had a match on short rest, some starters were rested. That was against an expansion team though. This is against the first place team in the Western Conference. Given that recent history, I think United will go with its best 11 tonight, and some reserves on Saturday against Toronto FC. With Dudar and Dejan Jakovic out, that will mean Daniel Woolard, Brandon McDonald, Robbie Russell, and Perry Kitchen in the back line. It may or may not mean Bill Hamid instead of Joe Willis in goal. Marcelo Saragosa will step in for Kitchen in defensive midfield, with Nick DeLeon and Danny Cruz on the wings and Dwayne De Rosario behind forwards Chris Pontius and Maicon Santos.

Prediction: Frank Yallop has his team playing really well right now, and with this game happening across the country on short rest, I'm predicting a 2-1 United loss.

What are you drinking? My alarm clock goes off at 5:15 every morning. I'm drinking coffee. Definitely coffee.

This is your place for pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion.

The hopefully short-term departure of Emiliano Dudar from the D.C. United starting lineup comes at a tough time for the team. The combination of Steven Lenhart and Chris Wondolowski may actually be the toughest attacking partnership in the league, and United will have to face them tomorrow night without the team's defensive leader, and most important player.

We started the conversation on our podcast early this morning, in which we devoted an entire segment to Dudar and how the team might go about replacing him, and continued the conversation today with our projected starting lineup. I'm going to take it a step farther and look at the back line in greater detail, and actually provide a counterpoint to Benuski's proposal.

Four of the five players who will occupy the defensive roles for United on Wednesday night are obvious. Their exact positions might not be though. We know that Daniel Woolard, Brandon McDonald, Robbie Russell, and Perry Kitchen will be on the field somewhere. Even though Dejan Jakovic will be listed as questionable for the match against the San Jose Earthquakes, he isn't likely to return yet, and Ethan White is still out. With those points in mind, Russell seems to be the presumptive starter at central defense next to McDonald. Kitchen and Woolard are other options for that role, but Ben Olsen prefers the experience and strength of Russell over the others.

That leaves Russell's spot on the right. Will Kitchen slide back to the role that he played most often in 2011, allowing Marcelo Saragosa to start in central defensive midfield? Or will Chris Korb get his third start of the year as a fullback?

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