# 2020 D.C. United season

The 2020 D.C. United season was the club's 25th season of existence, and their 25th consecutive season playing in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The regular season began on February 29, 2020 (making it the first time the season began in February), and was suspended on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The club's season is resumed on July 13, 2020, with the MLS is Back Tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida, where group stage fixtures counted towards the regular season standings. The season ended on November 8, 2020, with their final regular season match.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, United's slate of external competitions were greatly altered. The club was slated to participate in the 2020 U.S. Open Cup beginning in April, however that tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic. Additionally, United was slated to play in the 2020 Leagues Cup, a secondary knock-out tournament for the top MLS clubs which did not qualify for the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League. As with the Open Cup, the Leagues Cup was cancelled due to the pandemic.
The 2020 season has also brought changes to D.C. United's coaching staff. After a string of losses, which pushed United to last place in the Eastern Conference's standings, head coach Ben Olsen was replaced by assistant coach Chad Ashton on October 8, 2020.

## Competitive fixtures
### Major League Soccer
#### Standings
##### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 10 | Inter Miami CF | 23 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 24 | 1.04 | Qualification for the playoffs play-in round |
| 11 | Chicago Fire FC | 23 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 23 | 1.00 | |
| 12 | Atlanta United FC | 23 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 22 | 0.96 | Qualification for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 13 | D.C. United | 23 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 21 | 0.91 | |
| 14 | FC Cincinnati | 23 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 36 | −24 | 16 | 0.70 | |
* ↑ As 2019 U.S. Open Cup champions

##### Overall

2020 MLS overall standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 22 | Chicago Fire FC | 23 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 23 | 1.00 | |
| 23 | Atlanta United FC (U) | 23 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 22 | 0.96 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 24 | D.C. United | 23 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 21 | 0.91 | |
| 25 | Houston Dynamo | 23 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 21 | 0.91 | |
| 26 | FC Cincinnati | 23 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 36 | −24 | 16 | 0.70 | |
* ↑ As 2019 U.S. Open Cup champions (USA4)

#### Results by round

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Stadium | H | H | N | N | N | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | D | D | L | D | L | L | W | D | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | D | W | W | W | L | L |
| Position (conference) | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| Position (overall) | 16 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 25 |

#### Results summary
### MLS is Back Tournament
#### Group C

Group C results :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Toronto FC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 5 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | New England Revolution | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 4 | D.C. United | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | |

## Squad information
### First team roster

| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (Age) | Apps | Goals | Assists | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Chris Seitz | GK | (1987-03-12) March 12, 1987 (age 37) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Houston Dynamo |
| 24 | Bill Hamid | GK | (1990-11-25) November 25, 1990 (age 33) | 238 | 0 | 0 | Midtjylland |
| 36 | Earl Edwards Jr. | GK | (1992-01-24) January 24, 1992 (age 32) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Orlando City SC |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 3 | Chris Odoi-Atsem | RB | (1995-05-27) May 27, 1995 (age 29) | 13 | 0 | 0 | Maryland Terrapins |
| 13 | Frédéric Brillant | CB | (1985-06-26) June 26, 1985 (age 39) | 66 | 3 | 4 | New York City FC |
| 15 | Steve Birnbaum | CB | (1991-01-23) January 23, 1991 (age 33) | 163 | 8 | 3 | California Golden Bears |
| 23 | Donovan Pines | CB | (1998-03-07) March 7, 1998 (age 26) | 10 | 0 | 0 | Maryland Terrapins |
| 28 | Joseph Mora | LB | (1993-01-15) January 15, 1993 (age 31) | 50 | 0 | 3 | Saprissa |
| 44 | Axel Sjöberg | CB | (1991-03-08) March 8, 1991 (age 33) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Columbus Crew |
| 91 | Oniel Fisher | RB | (1991-11-22) November 22, 1991 (age 32) | 26 | 1 | 1 | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 4 | Russell Canouse | DM | (1995-06-11) June 11, 1995 (age 29) | 56 | 1 | 2 | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim |
| 5 | Júnior Moreno | DM | (1993-07-20) July 20, 1993 (age 31) | 49 | 0 | 5 | Zulia |
| 7 | Paul Arriola | RM | (1995-02-05) February 5, 1995 (age 29) | 68 | 14 | 12 | Tijuana |
| 8 | Ulises Segura | CM | (1993-06-23) June 23, 1993 (age 31) | 56 | 5 | 3 | Saprissa |
| 10 | Edison Flores | AM | (1994-05-14) May 14, 1994 (age 30) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Monarcas Morelia |
| 11 | Yamil Asad | LM | (1994-07-24) July 24, 1994 (age 30) | 30 | 9 | 8 | Vélez Sarsfield |
| 18 | Felipe | CM | (1990-09-30) September 30, 1990 (age 34) | 9 | 0 | 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| 25 | Mohammed Abu | DM | (1991-11-04) November 4, 1991 (age 33) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Vålerenga (loan) |
| 27 | Moses Nyeman | CM | (2003-11-05) November 5, 2003 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 30 | Kevin Paredes | MF | (2003-05-07) May 7, 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 31 | Julian Gressel | RM | (1993-12-16) December 16, 1993 (age 30) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Atlanta United FC |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Ola Kamara | ST | (1989-10-15) October 15, 1989 (age 35) | 5 | 3 | 0 | Shenzhen |
| 20 | Gelmin Rivas | ST | (1989-03-23) March 23, 1989 (age 35) | 0 | 0 | 0 | MKE Ankaragücü |
| 22 | Griffin Yow | ST | (2002-09-25) September 25, 2002 (age 22) | 2 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 29 | Yordy Reyna | ST | (1993-09-17) September 17, 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| 50 | Erik Sorga | ST | (1999-07-08) July 8, 1999 (age 25) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Flora |

### Coaching and management staff
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | MLS Cup | MLS Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | USA | Chris Seitz | 6 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Chris Odoi-Atsem | 15 | 0 | 8+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | USA | Russell Canouse | 15 | 1 | 14+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | VEN | Júnior Moreno | 20 | 0 | 20+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | USA | Paul Arriola | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | CRC | Ulises Segura | 10 | 0 | 7+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | NOR | Ola Kamara | 22 | 4 | 17+5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | PER | Edison Flores | 13 | 0 | 11+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Yamil Asad | 23 | 3 | 18+5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | FRA | Frédéric Brillant | 19 | 2 | 18+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | USA | Steve Birnbaum | 10 | 0 | 10+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | BRA | Felipe | 7 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | VEN | Gelmin Rivas | 8 | 2 | 7+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | USA | Griffin Yow | 12 | 2 | 4+8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | USA | Donovan Pines | 16 | 1 | 15+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | USA | Bill Hamid | 17 | 0 | 17+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | GHA | Mohammed Abu | 6 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | LBR | Moses Nyeman | 11 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | CRC | Joseph Mora | 21 | 0 | 19+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | PER | Yordy Reyna | 5 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | DOM | Kevin Paredes | 17 | 0 | 9+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | GER | Julian Gressel | 22 | 2 | 19+3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | GK | USA | Earl Edwards Jr. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | SWE | Axel Sjöberg | 2 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | FW | EST | Erik Sorga | 17 | 1 | 6+11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 | FW | JAM | Oniel Fisher | 15 | 0 | 6+9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players that left the club during the season: ||||||||||||
| 2 | MF | ARG | Federico Higuaín | 10 | 2 | 4+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | GHA | Ema Boateng | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | USA | Chris Durkin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* ↑ Includes three group stage matches of the MLS is Back Tournament

## Awards
### MLS Team of the Week

| Week | Player | Opponent | Position | Ref |
| 3 | Frédéric Brillant | Toronto FC | DF | |

## Transfers and loans
### Transfers in

| No. | Pos. | Player | From | Date | Notes/Fee |
| Winter 2019–20 |||||||
| 11 | MF | Yamil Asad | Vélez Sarsfield | September 17, 2019 | Free Transfer, signed through 2022 |
| 44 | MF | Moses Nyeman | D.C. United Academy | October 3, 2019 | Homegrown player |
| 24 | GK | Bill Hamid | Midtjylland | December 9, 2019 | $750,000 TAM, signed through 2022 |
| 10 | MF | Edison Flores | Morelia | January 14, 2020 | $5M Transfer Fee to Morelia, $2M per year through 2024 |
| 30 | MF | Kevin Paredes | D.C. United Academy | January 17, 2020 | Homegrown player |
| 31 | MF | Julian Gressel | Atlanta United FC | January 21, 2020 | $750,000 TAM to Atlanta, over $700,000 per year through 2023 |
| 50 | FW | Erik Sorga | Flora | February 29, 2020 | $500,000 |
| 2 | MF | Federico Higuaín | Columbus Crew | March 2, 2020 | Signed as player and assistant coach |
| Summer 2020 |||||||
| 44 | DF | Axel Sjöberg | Columbus Crew | August 12, 2020 | Traded for Emmanuel Boateng |
| 20 | FW | Gelmin Rivas | MKE Ankaragücü | August 31, 2020 | Free Transfer |
| 29 | FW | Yordy Reyna | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | September 19, 2020 | $400,000 in 2021 GAM to Vancouver |

### Transfers out

| No. | Pos. | Player | To | Date | Notes/Fee |
| Winter 2019–20 |||||||
| 26 | MF | Antonio Bustamante | Club Blooming | November 22, 2019 | Option Declined |
| 20 | DF | Jalen Robinson | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | November 22, 2019 | Option Declined |
| 19 | MF | Gordon Wild | LA Galaxy | November 22, 2019 | Option Declined |
| 25 | FW | Quincy Amarikwa | Las Vegas Lights | November 22, 2019 | Option Declined |
| 6 | DF | Marquinhos Pedroso | Botev Plovdiv | November 22, 2019 | Option Declined |
| 9 | FW | Wayne Rooney | Derby County | December 31, 2019 | Undisclosed |
| 29 | DF | Leonardo Jara | Boca Juniors | December 31, 2019 | End of loan |
| 10 | MF | Luciano Acosta | Atlas | January 1, 2020 | Free Transfer |
| 21 | MF | Chris Durkin | Sint-Truiden | May 7, 2020 | Loan buyout, $1.2M to D.C. with 25% sell-on clause |
| Summer 2020 |||||||
| 17 | MF | Emmanuel Boateng | Columbus Crew | August 12, 2020 | Traded for Axel Sjoberg |
| 2 | MF | Federico Higuaín | Inter Miami CF | October 9, 2020 | $50,000 GAM from Miami |

### MLS SuperDraft picks

2020 D.C. United SuperDraft Picks :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Status |
| 1 | 21 | Simon Lefebvre | GK | Temple | signed with Loudoun United FC |
| 2 | 42 | Josh Fawole | FW | Loyola (MD) | signed with Loudoun United FC |
| 3 | 65 | Andrew Verdi | GK | Michigan | returned to college |
| 3 | 69 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| 4 | 91 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| 4 | 95 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |

### Loans in

| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned from | Start | End | Source |
| 25 | MF | Mohammed Abu | Vålerenga | March 2, 2020 | December 31, 2020 | |