I mean, looking at this performance, that’s what lacked. I think Dike provides that wild card.
Well, there's strikers and then there's strikers. As was highlighted, playing with ANY of the strikers we had on our bench would have been a good start. Giving Otasowie a couple meaningless minutes doesn't count. I can't fathom why you don't give one of those kids 45 minutes to make a difference.
Also, what I love about players like Dike (or Sargent [needs more bulk, but doesn't mind physical play], Otasowie, Akinola, etc) is the ability to not only be a striker, but be physical, like Jozy could. Or hell, Brian McBride. Not just a goal scorer, but guy who will bang and mix it up.
There are reasons we went into the tank when Jozy got hurt in 2014, but the biggest imho was we didn't have another guy with the same skills as Jozy. Deuce was a much better finisher, but not quite the same at being a hold-up forward who's just trying to help us hold onto the ball and lay it off so we keep possession.
I hope that we see some of these other guys push for a spot. Because I love me some Pulisic, Reyna, etc., but we also need a guy who can bang with a CB and give as good as he takes, be a hold-up target, win balls in the air, poach, finish, etc.