United Has Goal in Hand, One in Mind

The Red Bulls' Amado Guevara, center, tries to get by Brian Carroll and Ben Olsen in United's 1-0 victory last week. (By Bill Kostroun -- Associated Press)

D.C. United has been sitting on a one-goal lead in its total-goals playoff series with the New York Red Bulls for eight days, needing only a tie this evening at RFK Stadium to advance to the MLS Eastern Conference final for the second time in three years.

As far as United is concerned, though, last week's 1-0 victory at Giants Stadium never happened and the playoffs begin today.

"We won, it's over with," goalkeeper Troy Perkins said. "Yeah, they say it carries over, but realistically it doesn't. To us, it's a fresh game and we still have to go out and win."

MLS's first-round format mirrors the international soccer system, with each club hosting a game and the team scoring the most goals progressing to the next round. In essence, United is narrowly ahead at halftime of one long game.

The danger for D.C. is being content with the lead and turning overly defensive.

"It's a recipe for disaster if you go into a game thinking you can defend for 90 minutes," midfielder Ben Olsen said. "It hasn't worked in the past and it's not going to work now."

If the Red Bulls, who are winless in six meetings in all competitions with United this year, were to win by a goal, the teams would play a 30-minute overtime and, if necessary, a penalty kick tiebreaker.

United has no interest in letting the series reach that point. Its strategy is clear: attack like any other home match, keep its defensive shape and attempt to seize an early lead. "If we get one early," Perkins said, "I think we're going to see their heads drop."

Said forward Alecko Eskandarian, "Our mind-set is to go out there and win this game, double the pressure on them until they fold."

United is in this position thanks to Christian Gomez's goal in the 77th minute of the opener last Saturday. It was far from a perfect performance yet a clear improvement over the club's effort the final three months of the regular season, when it managed just two wins in 13 games.

Although United was consistently more dangerous on the attack than the Red Bulls, D.C. did have to endure three serious threats, including a late header by Jeff Parke that a leaping Perkins desperately tipped off the crossbar.

One obstacle United will not have to confront today is artificial turf, which hampered its possession style in the series opener. At RFK, D.C. tends to play at a faster, more confident pace.

"Our focus has not shifted," Coach Peter Nowak said. "It's nice to have this kind of cushion, but it's still the second game to play. It's good to play at home, but the intensity, the approach must be the same as before the game in New York."

Nowak is likely to retain the same starting lineup from Game 1 and, depending how the game unfolds, turn to midfielders Matias Donnet and Clyde Simms and defender Brandon Prideaux for second-half reinforcement.

The players believe that, if everything goes as planned, there will be no need for drastic change.

"We know when we're on," defender Bobby Boswell said, "we're pretty much unbeatable."

United Notes: While D.C. will be without goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who sprained his ankle while jogging with a dog Tuesday, the Red Bulls listed three regulars on their injury list: Forward Edson Buddle (hamstring) is out, midfielder-forward Youri Djorkaeff (Achilles' tendon) is questionable and defender Todd Dunivant (calf) is probable. . . .

Nowak did not want to respond directly to comments made by Red Bulls midfielder Dema Kovalenko, a former United player who told New York reporters this past week that he does not like D.C.'s coach. "I've heard these lines a couple times before" after Kovalenko has left a team, Nowak said. "I'm not surprised." . . .

Club officials said they expect a crowd of between 20,000 and 22,000, a significant increase over the series opener, when only 8,630 turned out at Giants Stadium. . . . United is 3-0 in home playoff games against New York and 2-0-1 against the Red Bulls at RFK this year, including a 3-1 victory in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal in August.