There have been a lot of contributing factors in D.C. United’s fast start to the 2019 campaign, each of which is as important as the others. The defense has been outstanding as an unit, buoyed by the steadiness of Bill Hamid behind them. Wayne Rooney netted a hat trick in the demolition of Real Salt Lake, but United have also gotten offensive contributions from Luciano Acosta, Paul Arriola, Lucas Rodriguez and Ulises Segura. 

Of course, there’s also been the performances of Russell Canouse and Junior Moreno, who have bossed around the midfield as United picked up seven points from three games against teams who made the playoffs last year.

An underrated factor in United’s start though, might simply be that Ben Olsen has had the luxury of fielding the same starting lineup in each of the three games. So far, he has not had to deal with injuries to start the season, with only Oniel Fisher and Chris Odoi-Atsem as the long-term absences. And by not playing this past weekend, United didn’t have to deal with players missing due to the international duty, which would have robbed them of Arriola and Moreno from the starting lineup otherwise.

So United has been able to keep the rhythm going from week to week, and they sit atop the Eastern Conference standings after three games.

“It’s always helpful when you have a settled side, a settled team,” the team’s captain, Wayne Rooney, said recently. “For the coaches, it helps them a lot.”

Olsen always preaches about wanting to have competition at all the spots on the field. It helps the starters keep on their toes in practice, while motivating those who aren’t starting to show their best when their number is called upon. But keeping the same team together on a week-to-week basis is also crucial, and it’s been a big factor this year already for United.

Last year, Olsen was unable to field the same lineup three games in a row. There were only a handful of occasions he trotted out the same team two games in a row, and he was sometimes forced into making three or four changes from one weekend to the next. That’s not debilitating for a team, but it had some effect on the team in the first half of the season.

Even in the second half, after Rooney and Hamid arrived and Canouse and Moreno returned from injury, there were still changes from week to week, especially at right back, as Nick DeLeon returned from injury just as Oniel Fisher suffered a long-term knee injury.

That hasn’t cropped up yet though, and likely won’t for the next two games, barring an injury. If Arriola and Moreno return from international duty fit and healthy, they will be in the starting lineup on Sunday at Orlando City. United then host Los Angeles FC a week later, before then having to deal with a quick turnaround, playing on Tuesday, April 9, at home against the Montreal Impact.

On several more occasions during the year, United will have to deal with a weekend-midweek-weekend schedule that will force Olsen’s hand. Those not getting a ton of minutes now will be called upon, and according to Rooney, those guys are more than ready to step in.

“I have to say also that the players that haven’t played have been fantastic in training, and making sure they’re prepared and ready if the coach needs them,” said Rooney.