The 2023 season was D.C. United's 28th in existence and its 28th consecutive season in the top division of American soccer, Major League Soccer. In addition to MLS, D.C. United participated in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup and 2023 Leagues Cup, the latter their first international club tournament since 2016. The season was the first full season with Wayne Rooney as head coach. The season covered the period from November 1, 2022, to October 31, 2023.
This was the first season since 2008 where long-time United goalkeeper, Bill Hamid, is not on the roster.
Background
The 2022 season was a tumultuous season for United. The club finished at the bottom of the MLS table and saw the firing of then-head coach Hernán Losada early in the season, followed by their interim manager, Chad Ashton being removed from interim duties halfway through the season, prior to Wayne Rooney's arrival. The club set a record in the number of goals conceded (75) and the largest losses in club history, both to Philadelphia Union, a six-goal home loss, and a seven-goal away loss. Midseason acquisition, Taxiarchis Fountas lead United in goals during the season, scoring 12 goals in 21 appearances, being United's lone player selected for the 2022 MLS All-Star Game. Outside of MLS, United were eliminated in the fourth round proper of the U.S. Open Cup by their longtime rivals, the New York Red Bulls.
The offseason saw Lucy Rushton fired as general manager. Head coach Wayne Rooney and sporting director Dave Kasper retained their roles.
Club
Team management Position Name Chairman Jason Levien Co-Chairman Stephen Kaplan Sporting Director Dave Kasper General Manager Vacant Technical Director Stewart Mairs Head coach Wayne Rooney Assistant coach Frédéric Brillant Assistant coach Carl Robinson Assistant coach Pete Shuttleworth Goalkeeping coach Diego Restrepo
Roster
Squad No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Apps Goals Assists Signed from Goalkeepers1Tyler MillerGK2200 Minnesota United FC24Alex BonoGK300 Toronto FC50Luis ZamudioGK000 Loudoun United Defenders 2Ruan RB 1604 Orlando City SC 3Derrick WilliamsCB1710 LA Galaxy 4Brendan Hines-IkeCB3910 Kortrijk 5Mohanad JeahzeLB 601 Hammarby IF14Andy NajarRB1501115 Los Angeles FC 15Steve BirnbaumCB262146 California Golden Bears 23Donovan PinesCB8661 Maryland Terrapins 30Hayden SargisCB500 Sacramento Republic 31Eric DavisLB100 DAC Dunajská Streda 33Jacob GreeneLB / RB1410 D.C. United Academy 45Matai AkinmboniCB600 D.C. United Academy 72Gaoussou Samaké LB900 ASEC Mimosas Midfielders 6Russell CanouseDM13056 Hoffenheim 7Pedro SantosMF / RW 1511 Columbus Crew 8Chris DurkinDM / RM9545 Sint-Truiden 10Gabriel PiraniAM000 Santos FC (on loan) 18Jeremy Garay MF100 D.C. United Academy 21Ted Ku-DiPietroAM2931 Loudoun United 22Yamil AsadAM / LW88158 Universidad Católica 25Jackson HopkinsAM / SS2901 D.C. United Academy43 Mateusz KlichCM2425 Leeds United49 Ravel MorrisonThough still under contract with the club for 2023, Morrison was left off the official roster and is ineligible to play with the team in MLS competition.MF1420 Derby County77 Martín RodríguezAdded to Season-Ending Injury List. MF / LW1401 Altay SK Forwards 9Erik HurtadoCF400 San Antonio FC12Cristian DájomeLW1321 Vancouver Whitecaps FC19Nigel RoberthaCF4374 Levski Sofia20Christian BentekeST2892 Crystal Palace26Kristian FletcherFW1411 Loudoun United 84José FajardoST000 Cusco FC
Non-competitive
Friendlies
Midseason exhibitions
Competitive
Major League Soccer
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results by matchday
Match results
U.S. Open Cup
Leagues Cup
Group stage
Knockout stage
Transfers
Transfers in
Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref. October 17, 2022 GK 50 Luis Zamudio Loudoun United Signed through 2024, with 2025 team option. November 10, 2022 DF 3 Derrick Williams LA Galaxy $180,000 in 2024 GAM to LA November 21, 2022 MF 7 Pedro Santos Columbus Crew Free Transfer, signed through 2024 November 24, 2022 GK 1 Tyler Miller Minnesota United FC Free Transfer, signed through 2024 December 7, 2022 DF 5 Mohanad Jeahze Hammarby IF Signed through 2025, with 2026 team option December 14, 2022 GK 24 Alex Bono Toronto FC Free Transfer, signed through 2024 with 2025 team option December 21, 2022 DF 2 Ruan Orlando City SC Traded for #2 overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft January 12, 2023 MF 43 Mateusz Klich Leeds United Free Transfer, signed through 2024 with 2025 team option March 2, 2023 MF 22 Yamil Asad Universidad Católica Signed through 2023 with 2024-25 team options April 24, 2023 FW 12 Cristian Dájome Vancouver Whitecaps FC $350,000 GAM to Vancouver April 29, 2023 FW 9 Erik Hurtado San Antonio FC $10,000 to San Antonio, 2024 team option August 2, 2023 FW 84 José Fajardo Cusco FC Free Transfer DF 31 Eric Davis DAC Dunajska Streda Free Transfer
Transfers out Date Position No. Name To Fee/notes Ref. November 14, 2022 FW 9 Ola Kamara Häcken Out of contract GK 28 Bill Hamid Memphis 901 Out of contract DF 93 Tony Alfaro New York City FC Option declined MF 13 Sofiane Djeffal Austin FC Option declined, 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft DF 97 Sami Guediri ES Sétif Option declined GK 21 Jon Kempin N/A Option declined, retired DF 3 Chris Odoi-Atsem Alexandria Reds Option declined FW 16 Adrien Perez San Diego Loyal Option declined DF 5 Brad Smith Houston Dynamo Option declined FW 17 Kimarni Smith San Antonio FC Option declined MF 12 Drew Skundrich Option declined GK 32 David Ochoa Atlético San Luis Free Transfer January 19, 2023 GK 1 Rafael Romo Universidad Católica Mutual Termination February 19, 2023 FW 22 Miguel Berry Atlanta United FC $250,000 GAM July 28, 2023 MF 44 Victor Pálsson KAS Eupen Undisclosed fee August 10, 2023 FW 11 Taxiarchis Fountas Trabzonspor Mutual termination
Loans in No. Pos. Player Loaned from Start End Source 17 MF Lewis O'Brien Nottingham Forest March 20, 2023 July 16, 2023 10 MF Gabriel Pirani Santos FC July 27, 2023 December 31, 2023
Loan out No. Pos. Player Loaned to Start End Source 18 MF Jeremy Garay Loudoun United March 10, 2023 November 30, 2023 72 DF Gaoussou Samaké Loudoun United March 10, 2023 May 12, 2023 30 DF Hayden Sargis Loudoun United May 12, 2023 November 30, 2023 25 MF Jackson Hopkins Loudoun United May 20, 2023 July 25, 2023 45 DF Matai Akinmboni Loudoun United June 2, 2023 November 30, 2023 50 GK Luis Zamudio Pittsburgh Riverhounds June 16, 2023 July 17, 2023
MLS SuperDraft picks
Round Selection Player Position College Status231 Ben StitzMF PennSigned with FC Cincinnati 2360 Aidan RochaMFGeorgetown Signed with Loudoun United FC
Statistics
Appearances and goals Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.
!colspan="14"|Players who left during the season
!colspan="4"|Total !39!!47!!34!!45!!2!!1!!3!!1
Top scorers {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|Rank ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|Position ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|No. ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526;" scope="col"|Name ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"|Total |- | 1 || FW || 20 ||align="left"| Christian Benteke || 14 || 0 || 0 || 14 |- | 2 || FW || 11 ||align="left"| Taxiarchis Fountas || 6 || 0 || 0 || 6 |- | 3 || MF || 21 ||align="left"| Ted Ku-DiPietro || 5 || 0 || 0 || 5 |- | 4 || MF || 43 ||align="left"| Mateusz Klich || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 |- |rowspan="2"| 5 || DF || 23 ||align="left"| Donovan Pines || 3 || 0 || 0 || 3 |- | MF || 8 ||align="left"| Chris Durkin || 3 || 0 || 0 || 3 |- | 7 || FW || 12 ||align="left"| Cristian Dájome || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 |- | 8 ||colspan=7| 9 players with 1 goal |- !colspan="4"|Total !44!!1!!1!!46
Top assists
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|Rank ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|Position ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|No. ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:150px;" scope="col"|Name ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"|Total |- | 1 || MF || 43 ||align="left"| Mateusz Klich || 7 || 0 || 0 || 7 |- | 2 || DF || 2 ||align="left"| Ruan || 5 || 0 || 0 || 5 |- | rowspan="2" | 3 || FW || 20 ||align="left"| Christian Benteke || 3 || 0 || 0 || 3 |- | MF || 21 ||align="left"| Ted Ku-DiPietro || 3 || 0 || 0 || 3 |- | rowspan="2" | 5 || MF || 8 ||align="left"| Chris Durkin || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 |- | MF || 44 ||align="left"| Victor Pálsson || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 |- | 7 ||colspan=7| 6 players with 1 assist
!colspan="4"|Total !28!!0!!0!!28
Notes
References
External links D.C. United