Slump or speed bump?

In a relatively short amount of time, Bobby Boswell has become a constant presence for D.C. United.

He is an oft-photographed, filmed and quoted face of the franchise, the reigning MLS Defender and Humanitarian of the Year, not to mention a blogger, magazine hunk, social planner and convivial man about town.

But Boswell was rendered nearly invisible in late August, benched by first-year coach Tom Soehn for three games. He apparently was not playing up to last year’s level, and Soehn, low-keyed but highly demanding, thought it was time to send a message.

“Whether it’s Bobby or anybody else, we have a deep team and we have a lot of quality guys,” Soehn said. “Bobby had a chance to sit and watch, and I think it motivated him. You go through stretches where sometimes a little of that’s needed. He’s a professional guy and I think he handled it well.”

In other words, message received.

Boswell returned to the lineup and played well in United’s 4-0 win against FC Dallas last Saturday. He also played in the 2-2 tie with Chivas USA on Thursday in Carson, Calif., a game in which United’s defense did not exactly distinguish itself. And it could have been worse; Boswell’s clearance in the first half struck the post, almost resulting in another goal.

His status for today’s match against New England at RFK Stadium? Well, such decisions usually are revealed just before the game.

Still, Boswell did not think the benching was especially called for — “I’m a believer in, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he said — but he quickly accepted it.

“It’s the nature of the business and you can’t go acting crazy,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been working pretty hard and I feel like now I have to work even harder to make sure I’m still out there. It’s good for the team and I think it will make me a better player.”

How Boswell handled the benching impressed some of his veteran teammates, which is not to be underestimated considering his relative inexperience (this is his third year in MLS) and his somewhat outsized personality.

“He’s a bright kid,” said midfielder Ben Olsen, who is in his ninth MLS season and having a big year for first-place United. “He gets the game. I think when he’s not playing well, he knows the reason why.”

Olsen had a “few talks” with Boswell during his inactivity, “just to stay with it, not tank it,” he said. “He was surprised I even said that, which is a good sign. He knows he needed to get it back and he knows how to do it, and he did it.”

Boswell “dug a little bit deeper and became a little bit harder and closed people down even a little bit more in training and showed he wanted to get back in there,” said defender Greg Vanney, a ninth-year MLS player who joined the team earlier in the year.

“He wasn’t a disruption, he wasn’t angry. He wasn’t any of the things you don’t want to see guys be when they get dropped from the lineup.”

Boswell wouldn’t acknowledge that the experience was humbling, but it was an eye-opener. Things had been going too well. As a second-year player last season, he was named the league’s best defender, made the All-Star team and the MLS Best 11. He also played for the U.S. national team.

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