WASHINGTON – After picking up only two victories over their first 14 league matches of 2018, a stretch in which D.C. United played 12 games on the road and had yet to add star forward Wayne Rooney to their ranks, coach Ben Olsen and his squad’s solitary goal was getting above the playoff line.
Now, though, there’s a feeling around this group – which enters Thursday’s Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs Knockout Round match against Columbus Crew SC (8 pm ET | FS1, UniMás, TSN, TVAS) on a 10-match unbeaten run – that getting to this stage isn’t enough.
“I think there’s belief in that locker room that there’s more to this team than just making the playoffs,” Olsen said on Tuesday. “I’ve been on teams where you make the playoffs and you hope you get a bounce or two and you can kind of squeak along. I think this team believes that we belong, or we’re good enough to make a real run at this thing.”
Since welcoming Rooney to the fold and opening Audi Field on July 14, United are 12-4-4 over their final 20 matches, 15 of those played at the new venue.
Factoring in the whole season, D.C. also stack up well in the other indicators that suggest quality.
Their 60 goals scored is fifth-most among playoff teams in either conference, and the most in club history since the 1999 season that concluded with the Black-and-Red winning their third MLS Cup. Their plus-10 goal differential is seventh among the 12 playoff participants and D.C.’s best since winning the regular season East crown in 2014.
In Steve Birnbaum’s mind, the group has already been playing under playoff pressure for more than two months, using an unbeaten run to climb out of last in the East all the way to the No. 4 seed.
“We’ve competed and held our own and beat some of the best teams in the league. There’s no reason why we can’t win the whole thing,” the center back said. “We have the momentum right now, and it’s cliché to say it, but it’s one game at a time. And it’s kind of like we’ve been doing the last month where they’re almost all must-win games. I don’t think this game is any different.”
Right back Nick DeLeon is one of only two D.C. players who have been with the team in a run beyond the Conference Semifinals. In a previous life as a wide midfielder, DeLeon scored the most famous playoff goal of Olsen’s coaching tenure, the decider in the second leg of a dramatic Conference Semifinal against the New York Red Bulls.
A rookie back then, DeLeon understands the uniqueness of what D.C. pulled off to get to this point, but also the promise of a squad that is easily the most talented in his time here.
“Once you get to the postseason, you’ve got to go to the end,” DeLeon said. “I think that’s where you consider it a successful season. You’re obviously proud of what you’ve done so far. But at this point, that’s what I see.”
Watch: Can D.C. kickstart a Cup run with a Knockout Round win?
