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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — After racking up 12 wins in 15 regular season matches at Audi Field, D.C. United will have at least one more home match in the playoffs.
D.C. held off the host Chicago Fire on the final day of the MLS regular season for a 0-0 draw. That, coupled with Philadelphia’s loss at New York City FC, allowed D.C. to move up into fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
That means D.C. will host Columbus in the Knockout Round either Wednesday or Thursday.
“I think everyone is delighted to finish fourth from where we were,” D.C. striker Wayne Rooney said. “It’s a great achievement.”
Rooney created what was probably the best chance of the match via a free kick in the second half. His well-struck shot forced a big rebound from Fire goalkeeper Patrick McLain. Frederic Brillant was there for the rebound, but skied it over the bar. After the match, Brillant said he should have scored on the play.
The Fire (8-18-8) had more possession, shots and corners, but neither goalkeeper was forced into much action.
D.C. (14-11-9) finished the regular season going 7-0-3 over the final 10 matches.
“It’s 10 unbeaten and we know to come here is a difficult game,” Rooney said. “The point was enough in the end obviously to secure the fourth place. We’ll move onto our game on Wednesday or Thursday with a lot of confidence.”
A dreary day in Bridgeview didn’t make for pretty soccer. Both teams lamented the conditions, but for D.C. the only objective was to move up to fourth place.
“Once it was evident that a tie would have given us a home game, we kind of locked up shop in the last 20 minutes,” D.C. coach Ben Olsen said. “I felt we defended the box very, very well tonight. That was the difference in us getting the result.”
For the Fire, the draw marked the end of a very disappointing season. After having the third best record in MLS in 2017, the Fire managed just 32 points.
There are plenty of questions about the team heading into the offseason. Will Bastian Schweinsteiger return? Will coach Veljko Paunović return?
Schweinsteiger said he will wait until the offseason to decide, just like last year. Paunović didn’t tip his hand either, but did open his press conference by thanking a wide range of people surrounding the club, especially the players.
“We all don’t know what our future will be, but I have gratitude for the hard work and everything they did for the club in every day,” Paunović said.
He also took responsibility for the disappointing season.
“I am completely and fully responsible for the bad results this year,” Paunović said. “I take that on me personally. I have to improve and get better.”