# 2023 D.C. United season

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

    As of July 16, 2023
| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (Age) | Apps | Goals | Assists | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Tyler Miller | GK | (1993-03-12) March 12, 1993 (age 31) | 22 | 0 | 0 | Minnesota United FC |
| 24 | Alex Bono | GK | (1994-04-25) April 25, 1994 (age 30) | 3 | 0 | 0 | Toronto FC |
| 50 | Luis Zamudio | GK | (1998-06-24) June 24, 1998 (age 26) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Loudoun United |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Ruan | RB | (1995-05-29) May 29, 1995 (age 29) | 16 | 0 | 4 | Orlando City SC |
| 3 | Derrick Williams | CB | (1993-01-17) January 17, 1993 (age 31) | 17 | 1 | 0 | LA Galaxy |
| 4 | Brendan Hines-Ike | CB | (1994-11-30) November 30, 1994 (age 29) | 39 | 1 | 0 | Kortrijk |
| 5 | Mohanad Jeahze | LB | (1997-04-10) April 10, 1997 (age 27) | 6 | 0 | 1 | Hammarby IF |
| 14 | Andy Najar | RB | (1993-03-16) March 16, 1993 (age 31) | 150 | 11 | 15 | Los Angeles FC |
| 15 | Steve Birnbaum | CB | (1991-01-23) January 23, 1991 (age 33) | 262 | 14 | 6 | California Golden Bears |
| 23 | Donovan Pines | CB | (1998-03-07) March 7, 1998 (age 26) | 86 | 6 | 1 | Maryland Terrapins |
| 30 | Hayden Sargis | CB | (2002-05-02) May 2, 2002 (age 22) | 5 | 0 | 0 | Sacramento Republic |
| 31 | Eric Davis | LB | (1991-03-31) March 31, 1991 (age 33) | 1 | 0 | 0 | DAC Dunajská Streda |
| 33 | Jacob Greene | LB / RB | (2003-03-23) March 23, 2003 (age 21) | 14 | 1 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 45 | Matai Akinmboni | CB | (2006-10-17) October 17, 2006 (age 18) | 6 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 72 | Gaoussou Samaké | LB | (1997-11-04) November 4, 1997 (age 27) | 9 | 0 | 0 | ASEC Mimosas |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 6 | Russell Canouse | DM | (1995-06-11) June 11, 1995 (age 29) | 130 | 5 | 6 | Hoffenheim |
| 7 | Pedro Santos | MF / RW | (1988-04-22) April 22, 1988 (age 36) | 15 | 1 | 1 | Columbus Crew |
| 8 | Chris Durkin | DM / RM | (2000-02-08) February 8, 2000 (age 24) | 95 | 4 | 5 | Sint-Truiden |
| 10 | Gabriel Pirani | AM | (2002-04-12) April 12, 2002 (age 22) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Santos FC (on loan) |
| 18 | Jeremy Garay | MF | (2003-04-01) April 1, 2003 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 21 | Ted Ku-DiPietro | AM | (2002-01-28) January 28, 2002 (age 22) | 29 | 3 | 1 | Loudoun United |
| 22 | Yamil Asad | AM / LW | (1994-07-27) July 27, 1994 (age 30) | 88 | 15 | 8 | Universidad Católica |
| 25 | Jackson Hopkins | AM / SS | (2004-07-01) July 1, 2004 (age 20) | 29 | 0 | 1 | D.C. United Academy |
| 43 | Mateusz Klich | CM | (1990-06-30) June 30, 1990 (age 34) | 24 | 2 | 5 | Leeds United |
| 49 | Ravel Morrison | MF | (1993-02-02) February 2, 1993 (age 31) | 14 | 2 | 0 | Derby County |
| 77 | Martín Rodríguez | MF / LW | (1994-08-05) August 5, 1994 (age 30) | 14 | 0 | 1 | Altay SK |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Erik Hurtado | CF | (1990-11-15) November 15, 1990 (age 33) | 4 | 0 | 0 | San Antonio FC |
| 12 | Cristian Dájome | LW | (1994-01-03) January 3, 1994 (age 30) | 13 | 2 | 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| 19 | Nigel Robertha | CF | (1998-03-13) March 13, 1998 (age 26) | 43 | 7 | 4 | Levski Sofia |
| 20 | Christian Benteke | ST | (1990-12-03) December 3, 1990 (age 33) | 28 | 9 | 2 | Crystal Palace |
| 26 | Kristian Fletcher | FW | (2004-10-16) October 16, 2004 (age 20) | 14 | 1 | 1 | Loudoun United |
| 84 | José Fajardo | ST | (1993-08-18) August 18, 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cusco FC |
* ↑ Though 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.
* ↑ Added to Season-Ending Injury List.

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

MLS Eastern Conference table (2023) :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10 | CF Montréal | 34 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 41 |
| 11 | New York City FC | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 41 |
| 12 | D.C. United | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 40 |
| 13 | Chicago Fire FC | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 40 |
| 14 | Inter Miami CF | 34 | 9 | 18 | 7 | 41 | 54 | −13 | 34 |

##### Overall table

Overall MLS standings table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 21 | Minnesota United FC | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 41 |
| 22 | New York City FC | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 41 |
| 23 | D.C. United | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 40 |
| 24 | Chicago Fire FC | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 40 |
| 25 | Austin FC | 34 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 39 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: March 17, 2023. Source: MLS

#### Results by matchday

| Game Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Stadium | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A |
| Result | W | L | D | L | L | D | L | W |
| Position (Conf.) | 5 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 11 |
| Position (Ovr.) | 9 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 20 |

#### Match results
### Leagues Cup
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | UNM | DCU | MTL |
| 1 | UNAM | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 3–0 | — |
| 2 | D.C. United | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | — |
| 3 | CF Montréal | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | | 2–2 | 0–1 | — |

#### Knockout stage
## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | No. | Name | From | Fee/notes |
| 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 |
| August 2, 2023 | DF | 31 | Eric Davis | DAC Dunajska Streda | Free Transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | No. | Name | To | Fee/notes |
| November 14, 2022 | FW | 9 | Ola Kamara | Häcken | Out of contract |
| November 14, 2022 | GK | 28 | Bill Hamid | Memphis 901 | Out of contract |
| November 14, 2022 | DF | 93 | Tony Alfaro | New York City FC | Option declined |
| November 14, 2022 | MF | 13 | Sofiane Djeffal | Austin FC | Option declined, 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft |
| November 14, 2022 | DF | 97 | Sami Guediri | ES Sétif | Option declined |
| November 14, 2022 | GK | 21 | Jon Kempin | N/A | Option declined, retired |
| November 14, 2022 | DF | 3 | Chris Odoi-Atsem | Alexandria Reds | Option declined |
| November 14, 2022 | FW | 16 | Adrien Perez | San Diego Loyal | Option declined |
| November 14, 2022 | DF | 5 | Brad Smith | Houston Dynamo | Option declined |
| November 14, 2022 | FW | 17 | Kimarni Smith | San Antonio FC | Option declined |
| November 14, 2022 | MF | 12 | Drew Skundrich | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | Option declined |
| November 23, 2022 | 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 |
| 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

2023 D.C. United SuperDraft Picks :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Status |
| 2 | 31 | Ben Stitz | MF | Penn | Signed with FC Cincinnati 2 |
| 3 | 60 | Aidan Rocha | MF | Georgetown | Signed with Loudoun United FC |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | USA | Tyler Miller | 25 | 0 | 25+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | BRA | Ruan | 28 | 0 | 15+9 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Derrick Williams | 27 | 1 | 21+3 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Brendan Hines-Ike | 16 | 0 | 9+3 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | IRQ | Mohanad Jeahze | 6 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | USA | Russell Canouse | 27 | 0 | 27+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | POR | Pedro Santos | 23 | 1 | 16+5 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | USA | Chris Durkin | 36 | 3 | 24+7 | 3 | 2+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | USA | Erik Hurtado | 10 | 1 | 1+6 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Gabriel Pirani | 10 | 1 | 10+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | COL | Cristian Dájome | 23 | 2 | 7+12 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | HON | Andy Najar | 22 | 0 | 12+9 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | USA | Steve Birnbaum | 22 | 1 | 20+2 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | SLV | Jeremy Garay | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | CUW | Nigel Robertha | 11 | 1 | 3+7 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | BEL | Christian Benteke | 34 | 14 | 31+0 | 14 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | USA | Ted Ku-DiPietro | 27 | 5 | 12+14 | 5 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ARG | Yamil Asad | 26 | 1 | 5+16 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | USA | Donovan Pines | 26 | 3 | 21+1 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | USA | Alex Bono | 15 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | USA | Jackson Hopkins | 12 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | USA | Kristian Fletcher | 12 | 0 | 1+9 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | USA | Hayden Sargis | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | PAN | Eric Davis Grajales | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | USA | Jacob Greene | 8 | 0 | 6+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | POL | Mateusz Klich | 36 | 4 | 31+1 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 45 | DF | USA | Matai Akinmboni | 5 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 49 | MF | JAM | Ravel Morrison | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 50 | GK | USA | Luis Zamudio | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 72 | DF | CIV | Gaoussou Samaké | 7 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | CHI | Martín Rodríguez | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 84 | FW | PAN | José Fajardo | 7 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Players who left during the season ||||||||||||
| 11 | MF | GRE | Taxiarchis Fountas | 17 | 6 | 12+5 | 6 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Lewis O'Brien | 19 | 1 | 17+0 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | ISL | Victor Pálsson | 18 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 39 | 47 | 34 | 45 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
* Last updated: October 8, 2023
* Source: Team Stats

### Top scorers

| Rank | Position | No. | Name | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | Leagues Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | 20 | Christian Benteke | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | FW | 11 | Taxiarchis Fountas | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | MF | 21 | Ted Ku-DiPietro | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | MF | 43 | Mateusz Klich | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | DF | 23 | Donovan Pines | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | MF | 8 | Chris Durkin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | FW | 12 | Cristian Dájome | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 9 players with 1 goal | 9 players with 1 goal | 9 players with 1 goal | 9 players with 1 goal | 9 players with 1 goal | 9 players with 1 goal | 9 players with 1 goal |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 44 | 1 | 1 | 46 |
* Last updated: April 12, 2023
* Source: Team Stats

### Top assists

| Rank | Position | No. | Name | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | Leagues Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | 43 | Mateusz Klich | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | DF | 2 | Ruan | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | FW | 20 | Christian Benteke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | MF | 21 | Ted Ku-DiPietro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | MF | 8 | Chris Durkin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | MF | 44 | Victor Pálsson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | 6 players with 1 assist | 6 players with 1 assist | 6 players with 1 assist | 6 players with 1 assist | 6 players with 1 assist | 6 players with 1 assist | 6 players with 1 assist |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 28 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
* Last updated: April 12, 2023
* Source: Team Stats