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D.C. United, Portland battle for playoff lives

Oct 18, 2011 - 9:26 PM Washington, D.C. (Sports Network) - Two of the four teams still alive for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer meet Wednesday night at RFK Stadium, as D.C. United hosts the expansion the Portland Timbers.

D.C. United and Portland are the lone teams with two games left in the regular season, and a loss by either side would end their playoff hopes.

United needs to win its final two matches, while Portland could advance with a win and a draw, but could also need two wins. Regardless of the scenarios, the clubs both need help from the Philadelphia Union on Thursday night.

Philadelphia visits Red Bull New York, which currently holds the 10th and last postseason berth. New York would clinch the final berth with a win. The Union, in their second MLS season, could still win the Eastern Conference.

Should New York lose, that leaves the door open for either United or Portland, as well as the Chicago Fire. But both United and Portland need to rebound from tough losses or all the scenarios will not matter.

United (9-12-11) has lost four straight and allowed two stoppage-time goals in a 2-1 defeat Saturday to Chicago.

"It was one of the toughest losses I have ever taken," United coach Ben Olsen said.

"The crazy thing about this [playoff race] is that we are still not out of it. There's still a scenario or two in which we can get into the playoffs.

"So, we'll move on. It's just a tough [loss] - I'm not going to sugarcoat it."

But even with a light still at the end of the tunnel, it will not be easy for United to recover from such a defeat.

"To walk back in the locker room with no points when you have victory in your grasp, it's demoralizing," United's Santino Quaranta said.

"It's not good when you don't have your destiny in your own hands."

United's Dwayne De Rosario, who converted a penalty in the 90th minute to give United the lead in the wild finish against Chicago, said after the defeat D.C. just has to focus on Portland.

"We have to take this one step at a time," De Rosario said, "and Portland is coming in here and we need to play with pride."

While D.C. United could go from having the worst record in MLS last season to the playoffs, Portland is trying to reach the postseason in its first year in the league.

Portland (11-14-7) wasted a chance to move into a better position to reach the playoffs Friday, as it suffered a home loss to the Houston Dynamo. That meant the Timbers need to get results in its final two matches on the road.

With just two road wins and four road draws through 15 games, that will be one tough mountain, but coach John Spencer said the team has played under pressure all season.

"Every game here is a pressurized game," Spencer said on the league's website. "We don't play small games, no disrespect to anybody."

Like United, Portland has struggled recently as it is winless in three of its last four matches. With a trip to Real Salt Lake awaiting Saturday, it will be no easy task to end with a bang. D.C. hosts Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.

But captain Jack Jewsbury echoed his coach, admitting that the team has played must-win matches for a long time and, even with midfielder Sal Zizzo out with a knee injury, expected a good performance against United.

"I think for the last month people have been telling us every game we've been playing is a must-win," Jewsbury said. "When those have come up, we've done well.

"I thought the effort [against Houston] was there, but for whatever reason we didn't play our best soccer."

"All we can do is make sure we prepare and get ready for our Wednesday game at D.C.," Portland defender Mike Chabala added.