After spending much of the season above the playoff cut line in the MLS Eastern Conference, New York City FC and D.C. United were mathematically eliminated from the postseason last week.
That leaves little at stake when New York (9-12-12, 39 points) and D.C. (7-14-12, 33 points) meet Saturday afternoon in Washington.
The teams were done in by poor finishes to the season, with each winning only two of their last 16 matches. D.C. United went 2-9-5 in those games, with defeats in their last five.
Meanwhile, NYCFC had a 2-6-8 mark in their last 16 matches, though they have played better of late, going 1-0-3 in their last four contests.
D.C. has been hindered by the loss of Louis Munteanu (six goals, four assists), who suffered an ankle injury while working out with the Romanian national team early last month.
The team also has been without top scorer Tai Baribo (16 goals) in its last two matches as he has been sidelined by a hip injury.
Injuries are particularly damaging to D.C. United given their lack of depth. A compressed schedule, which included seven games in a span of 22 days last month, amplified the lack of manpower.
“When we are missing one, two, three starters, it will be tight,” coach Rene Weiler said. “Now we’ve paid the price, with many games in a row and now really tough results.”
D.C. will look for offense Saturday from Lucas Bartlett (four goals) and Keisuke Kurokawa (six assists).
After reaching the Eastern Conference final last season, this has been a disappointing encore for New York City, which was in fifth place in the East after its first 19 matches.
After playing CF Montreal to a 1-1 draw last Saturday and seeing his team’s postseason hopes evaporate, NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen said the difference this season was “availability.”
“Our availability rate has been way lower than last season,” Jansen said. “It’s about 92% last season of availability and this year we’re at about 70%, 75% overall and that has a significant impact on the roster.”
On Saturday, New York City will look to Nicolas Fernandez (16 goals, 10 assists) and Agustin Ojeda (five goals, 11 assists).
D.C. was a 2-0 winner when the teams met on May 3, with Munteanu scoring both goals and Sean Johnson making four saves.
–Field Level Media
