WASHINGTON, D.C.–With just one more game before the Gold Cup break, D.C. United looks to bounce back after a draining midweek draw.
United hosts San Jose Earthquakes Saturday before a 25-day break from league games. San Jose comes to DC with back-to-back wins against Chicago and Toronto, respectively. Forward Chris Wondolowski has turned a scoring drought into two multi-goal games, pushing him farther past Landon Donovan’s career goal record.
Meanwhile, United will get a temporary reinforcement with midfielder Paul Arriola returning from a red card suspension. In his absence, Ulises Segura stepped into the right wing position and excelled, scoring twice in the 3-3 draw with Chicago Fire.
“When he is in that natural position, out wide right, he has performed really well for this club,” coach Ben Olsen said after the game. “In a lot of ways, Ulises is like-for-like positionally. [He] has the attributes we are asking in that position.”
The break comes at the good time for United. Despite players returning from injury, others are leaving for international team duty. Midfielder Junior Moreno is headed to Copa America to represent Venezuela; Arriola is most likely headed to U.S. men’s national team camp; and Chris Durkin will be with the U-20 USMNT through mid-June.
United heads into the weekend topping the Eastern Conference. The Black-and-Red will need the full three points to guarantee the position ahead of its international break with games in hand on all Eastern Conference teams except Montreal Impact.
Match Information
Notes: D.C. United will host Philadelphia Union in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup Wednesday, June 12 at 7 p.m. ET at Audi Field
Mid-Atlantic Pool:
D.C. United (MLS) @dcunited will host Philadelphia Union (MLS) @PhilaUnion
Columbus Crew SC (MLS) @ColumbusCrewSC will host Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USLC) @RiverhoundsSC #USOC2019
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) May 30, 2019
When: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Audi Field — Washington, D.C.
Streaming: FloSports or ESPN+