NYCFC hit the road

A cushy home stand has allowed New York City FC to earn points in three straight games, but on Saturday, they will face their first test — if you even can call it one — against DC United (4 p.m., UniMas/Facebook Live) in Washington.

NYCFC’s return to the road couldn’t come against an easier opponent. When the sides met on March 12 at Yankee Stadium, NYCFC (2-1-1, seven points) toasted DC United 4-0 behind two-goals from David Villa. That match is significant because it started NYCFC’s molding process, blending newcomers Rodney Wallace, Maxi Moralez and Alex Ring to form the electric link-up play that has been on display recently.

DC United (1-2-1, four points), won their first game last week against Philadelphia Union, but those three points proved costly. Veteran midfielder Marcelo Sarvas received a onegame suspension for stomping on Derrick Jones’s leg last week, and will miss the rematch against NYCFC. That leaves a hole on the defensive side for coach Ben Olson, who could plug in versatile midfielder Jared Jeffrey to fill the gap.

Unfortunately for the home side, NYCFC’s impressive run-of-form really showed last week in their eye-opening 2-1 comeback against San Jose.

Though they fell behind early, answers were found immediately — and it didn’t come from a Villa goal. Villa, who had scored at least one goal in NYCFC’s past six wins dating back to last season, showed he is much more than just a scorer. The 35-year-old distributed throughout the field, including an assist on both goals for NYCFC.