MONTCLAIR, N.J. — Soccer here and abroad offers multiple opportunities each year to win trophies. It’s not about just the league championship. There are domestic cup competitions and international tournaments to play — overlapping events that test players’ resilience and coaches’ acumen.
For Coach Wayne Rooney and D.C. United, one avenue to a trophy dissolved Tuesday, in familiar fashion against a familiar opponent.
Rooney fielded a young squad in a 1-0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup, a 109-year-old tournament involving teams from all levels of American soccer.