Cold Streak Leaves United Worried Entering Playoffs

Fire 3, United 2

D.C. United will enter the playoffs this weekend with the best record in MLS, with the top candidate for league most valuable player and with perhaps the most seasoned roster among the eight surviving clubs. From a statistical standpoint, it will boast the most formidable attack and one of the stingiest defenses.

But after another worrying performance last night -- a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Fire before 18,652 at RFK Stadium that began terribly and got only marginally better -- United would be hard-pressed to claim the favorite's role for a fifth championship.

"We give up the goals like an under-12 team," Coach Peter Nowak said. "We cannot do that because in the playoffs it's going to cost us a game, it's going to cost us a series, and we'll all go fishing."

D.C. (15-7-10) has lost three in a row, the longest skid in league play since Nowak's arrival in 2004. It has dropped five of six and is 2-6-5 since a 13-1-5 start that launched the club to the top of the league.

United has won just one of its last six home matches and, in the past nine days at RFK, suffered glaring defensive breakdowns en route to losses to potential Eastern Conference title-game opponents.

First, though, United will have to find a way past the New York Red Bulls in a first-round, total-goals series, Saturday afternoon at Giants Stadium and Oct. 29 in Washington.

Despite a 2-0-2 record against the Red Bulls this year and New York's 9-11-12 overall mark -- the poorest in the playoffs -- United hardly seems like a team that would be favored against anyone.

By the midway point of the first half yesterday, United faced a two-goal deficit.

And if not for reserve goalkeeper Nick Rimando's early diving save on Chris Rolfe and a penalty kick stop on Andy Herron, it could have been much worse.

Christian Gomez's exquisite goal in the 34th minute cut the deficit in half, but the Fire (13-11-8) restored its comfortable margin before Gomez scored again in the 82nd to further enhance his MVP credentials.

United could have tied it in the waning moments, only to see Ben Olsen's close-in bid strike the crossbar.

"We're just not getting results," forward Alecko Eskandarian said. "In the first half of the season, even if we were playing badly, we were getting those results. Now it seems like no matter what we do we're not getting them. Good performance, bad performance, it doesn't matter, and that's what is most disturbing to me."