D.C. United failed to score in half of its matches last season, so it seemed reasonable to think its primary aim this winter would be to acquire a trusty striker with a goal-pocked portfolio. But with training camp a week away, United has not landed a high-end scorer and, barring a big move before the March 3 opener, will enter the MLS season with three forwards who have never recorded more than eight goals in one year.
The club did obtain one frontline candidate in a trade with the Portland Timbers: Jamaican forward Darren Mattocks. But instead of a major upgrade at that position, Coach Ben Olsen said United will rely on Mattocks’s athletic skills, a fortified midfield and a collective scoring effort to rebound from last year’s last-place finish in the Eastern Conference.