In their last preseason game, in what was supposed to be the final test before their season opener, D.C. United had a poor performance against the Montreal Impact. The game wasn’t cause for panic, but both Ben Olsen and Wayne Rooney said after the fact that maybe it was the wake-up call that the Black-and-Red needed before the opener against Atlanta United. 

D.C. erased any lingering worry on Sunday night when, in the pouring rain, they went out and outplayed Atlanta for most of the 90 minutes en route to a 2-0 win. Paul Arriola and Luciano Acosta scored, while Josef Martinez, who last year set the record for most goals in an MLS regular season, was held in check. Keeper Bill Hamid had to make just two saves all game, while the Black-and-Red could have scored on a couple of other occasions, most notably Rooney’s miss in the 62nd minute.

DMV viewers can watch the DCU-NYCFC game live on FloFC!

Ben Olsen said after the game that he had to take the result with a grain of salt, considering that Atlanta had just played in the Concacaf Champions League on Thursday; the champions play again in Mexico on Wednesday. So even with a strong lineup, Frank de Boer’s side might have had their attention elsewhere.

But it was an overall strong performance from the Black-and-Red. Here’s our roundtable question this week: What stood out most in D.C. United’s win?

Steven Streff, FloFC’s D.C. United Beat Writer: There was plenty to like about D.C. United’s performance on Sunday night, in a game that might have been more lopsided than the final score indicated. What stood out to me the most though, was D.C.’s ability to defend the box, and limit successful passes into and from Zone 14. Zone 14, in soccer terms, is the area just outside a defending team’s box. Getting the ball in there can cause trouble for a defending team, and it is where a lot of scoring chances get created.

D.C. United, however, through Steven Birnbaum, an excellent performance from Frederic Brillant, and contributions from Russell Canouse and Junior Moreno, absolutely denied Atlanta access to Zone 14. This starved Josef Martinez of chances in goal, as he didn’t get the type of service that he was accustomed to during his first two years in the league. 

In addition, Atlanta completed just one pass that originated from inside the box against United. That pass came in the 86th minute, when Josef Martinez passed back away from his own goal. The only other attempted pass in the box came seconds before from Pity Martinez, which led to Josef recycling the ball back away from goal. Two of Atlanta’s nine shots came from inside the box, but both were near the top, and neither were on target.

Shutting an opponent down that much consistently is difficult to do. However, if the Black-and-Red can continue to find success in defending the box, they will put themselves in a good position to pick up points on a weekly basis.

Wesley Davidson, FloFC Contributor: What a massive win to start the year. What struck me the most on Sunday was the performance of D.C.’s midfield unit, particularly Russell Canouse. Atlanta are a team that can easily wear down the opposition with their ability to out-posses and string together seemingly endless passes. Yes, they still enjoyed a majority of the ball in this one at 56 percent, but the vast majority was without threat.

Watching The Black-And-Red’s midfield was a treat, as their willingness to make a tackle, cover an extra runner and also get forward with quality rendered the Five Stripes midfield largely ineffective. The numbers in this one back up what looked a very impressive display on the screen.

D.C. more than doubled Atlanta’s tackles at 27-13, and Canouse alone had eight, while he also completed 92 percent of his passes. They pulled off a similar feat in dispossessions, committing less than half of their opposition at 16-7. The 2-0 win, which easily could have been a higher scoreline, ultimately came down to being tidy in possession and never letting Atlanta get into a rhythm to supply the lethal Josef Martinez in attack. 

Hunter Sharpless, FloFC Senior Editor: You know what? I don’t care about the mitigating circumstances that may or may not have surrounded the game on Sunday night against Atlanta. Sure, the champs were probably tired. Sure, they knew they’d be hopping on a plane early the next morning for Mexico. They’ve got a new coach, new players, a new system, a new everything. 

But at the end of the day, D.C. United kicked their tails. 

Both Captain Streff and Dread Pirate Roberts point out really good things: The center backs were great and so was the midfield. It wasn’t just Birnbaum, either, as Brilliant played an absolutely beautiful game. Canouse put in a Heisman-worthy performance with his eight tackles, and Junior Moreno was good both defensively and moving forward (I’m sure the Venezuelan rues his missed opportunity in goal). 

I’m siding with Ben and Steve on this one, though, both of whom pointed out how important the pressing was from Rooney and Acosta up top. If this team brings that sort of pestering defense night in and night out, this is going to be a nightmare matchup for a lot of squads out there.