By Steven Goff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 17, 2008

CARSON, Calif., -- D.C. United Coach Tom Soehn is trying to solve two puzzles at once.

The first is the wayward direction of his team, which has failed to fulfill heightened expectations after a winter of change and, regardless of the outcome of Saturday night's match against Chivas USA at Home Depot Center, will pass the quarter mark of the MLS season in last place in the Eastern Conference.

The second riddle is his lineup, which has remained in perpetual unrest because of injuries, poor individual form and personal issues. A revamped roster that club officials believed at the start of the season was perhaps the deepest and most talented in the league has shown weakness in almost every outing this spring and has forced weekly evaluation of the starting lineup.

This week's training sessions provided encouragement, if not answers.

"People have dedicated themselves to making sure they're doing all the little things right," Soehn said. "If that translates into the game, then we are definitely heading in the right direction."

Though 23 league games and three tournaments lie ahead over the next five months, the players acknowledge an intensified urgency to win now.

"We've got to turn it around and get back to where we were last year," defender Marc Burch said of United (2-5), which endured a sputtering start in 2007 to finish with the most points in MLS for the second consecutive season. "We were a unit last year, no matter who was out there or who we were playing."

Chivas USA, crippled by injuries to its back line and next to last in the Western Conference with a 1-4-2 record, might be the perfect opponent for an equally stressed team.

"We are as bad as they are," United midfielder-forward Santino Quaranta said. "They're struggling, and so are we. It's going to be a good test of character again. We keep saying this, but really it's getting to the point where it has been long enough. We've got to figure it out."

Part of the problem-solving may come in the form of drastic lineup changes.

Following consecutive shutout losses, Soehn is seriously considering a major move on the front line -- benching Brazilian forward Luciano Emilio, the 2007 MLS most valuable player and goals champion who has not scored since the club's MLS home opener against Toronto six weeks ago. Emilio, who has started all seven league matches, could find himself on the bench watching Franco Niell or Francis Doe in his place alongside team captain Jaime Moreno.

"It's a combination of things," Soehn said of Emilio (one goal, one assist). "He is not very sharp in some areas, and he's got to work really hard to make sure he gets back to his form of last year."

Injuries and other absences have pressed Soehn into making other significant decisions.

With Brazilian Fred out again with a hamstring injury, rookie Ryan Cordeiro could very well make his MLS debut on the left side of midfield. Central defender Gonzalo Peralta did not travel with the team to remain with his pregnant wife, though there is a chance he could rejoin the club before kickoff.

If Peralta is not available, Soehn has limited options to fill his position. Devon McTavish, who played regularly in central defense last year and has been an outside midfielder this season because of Ben Olsen's long-term ankle injury, is the first choice, but he has yet to return from a sprained foot. The choice might be Domenic Mediate, a midfielder with some defensive experience. He just returned from a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for several weeks.

"Finding the right balance of guys to complement each other takes some time," Soehn said.

United, however, does not have a lot of time. Following Saturday's match, the club will fly back across the country and begin preparations for Wednesday's game at Toronto FC followed by a rematch with the Canadian team next weekend at RFK Stadium.

"The energy level this week has been much different," Quaranta said. "Our mentality is that everyone has to give that energy and be on the same page."

United Notes: Chivas, 0-4-1 since a victory and tie to begin the season, acquired former United player Carey Talley from Real Salt Lake for a future draft pick to bolster its back line, which is without defenders Lawson Vaughn (broken nose), Jonathan Bornstein (knee injury), Claudio Suárez (hamstring), Shavar Thomas (hamstring) and Alex Zotinca (knee). However, Talley is expected to be out with a leg injury. . . . In its previous game at Chivas last September, United relinquished a two-goal lead and settled for a 2-2 tie, the start of a 10-game winless streak on the road in all competitions, including 0-4-1 this year.