# 2021 D.C. United season

The 2021 D.C. United season was the club's 26th season of existence, and their 26th consecutive season playing in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its ongoing vaccination efforts, the season began on April 17, 2021 (about six weeks later than normal) and ended on November 7, 2021. Despite winning against Toronto FC on the last match of the regular season, the team did not qualify playoffs, making it their second consecutive season in which D.C. United did not qualify for the playoffs. It was the first time since 2011, that United did not qualify for the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Beyond MLS play, D.C. United would have participated in the 2021 U.S. Open Cup, which was initially to begin on May 4, before again being delayed by about six weeks and then ultimately being canceled in July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Background
### Offseason

The 2021 season was the first season since 2010 where Ben Olsen was not the club's head coach, as he was fired before the end of the 2020 season while Chad Ashton filled in as the interim head coach. After the 2020 season ended, the team began interviewing multiple candidates for the vacancy. Among the candidates included Ashton, former New York Red Bulls manager Chris Armas, former USWNT coach Jill Ellis, Columbus Crew assistant coach and former LA Galaxy assistant Ezra Hendrickson, and Seattle Sounders FC assistant coach Gonzalo Pineda. However, the team was either unable or unwilling to hire any of those candidates for undisclosed reasons. After a couple months of interviews and expanding the search to Europe, D.C. United officially announced the signing of former Argentine player and current head coach of Beerschot, Hernán Losada, on January 18, 2021.
On the player front, D.C. United declined options on six different players, letting their deals expire. The team also traded Ulises Segura to expansion side Austin FC for cash considerations. Meanwhile, the team signed D.C. United Academy and Loudoun United defender Jacob Greene to a Homegrown Contract. Later, the team picked up forward Adrien Perez from LAFC in the MLS Re-Entry Draft, and acquired Jon Kempin from Columbus to add depth to their goalkeeping corps in exchange for their third-round pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. D.C. added a few more players during the offseason, signing both of their first-round picks in the SuperDraft (Kimarni Smith and Michael DeShields) to first-team deals and later adding Dutch forward Nigel Robertha. In addition, the team took in two players on loan: American defender Brendan Hines-Ike from KV Kortrijk in Belgium, and Venezuelan forward Jovanny Bolívar from Deportivo La Guaira.
With multiple players injured or recovering from injury during the preseason, D.C. signed two additional defenders just before the season-opening match: the veteran and former DCU Academy graduate Andy Najar, and Mexican defender Tony Alfaro, and put them both on the gameday roster.

### MLS Season

With multiple prospective starters on the injury list or not match-fit to Losada's liking, Losada was forced to be creative with his opening day lineup. Among those decisions: Chris Seitz was given the start in goal, Alfaro started at CB despite being signed only a few days prior, and Erik Sorga was given the starting job as the main striker. DC fell behind early as their opponents, NYCFC, got the first goal 15 minutes into the match. Shortly after that, DC woke up and scored a pair of goals from outside the box, with Hines-Ike and Canouse each scoring a goal before the end of the first half. DC would end up winning their first match of the season 2–1. The match was also notable for giving Robertha and Perez their first minutes in a D.C. United jersey, along with Najar's return to the field for D.C. since leaving in 2013, as they were subbed in late into the match.
The following match against the New England Revolution used the same starting lineup, but it turned into a grinding affair with neither team really able to pull ahead. The only action was Hines-Ike accidentally deflecting a Revolution cross into his own net to give DC their first loss of the season, 1–0.

## Management team

| Position | Name |
| Chairman | Jason Levien |
| Co-Chairman | Stephen Kaplan |
| General Manager | Dave Kasper |
| Technical Director | Stewart Mairs |
| Head coach | Hernán Losada |
| Assistant coach | Nicolás Frutos |
| Assistant coach | Oka Nikolov |
| Assistant coach | Chad Ashton |
| Goalkeeping coach | Zach Thornton |

## 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) | 8 | 0 | 0 | Houston Dynamo |
| 21 | Jon Kempin | GK | (1993-04-08) April 8, 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Columbus Crew |
| 24 | Bill Hamid | GK | (1990-11-25) November 25, 1990 (age 34) | 238 | 0 | 0 | Midtjylland |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 3 | Chris Odoi-Atsem | RB | (1995-05-27) May 27, 1995 (age 29) | 30 | 1 | 0 | Maryland Terrapins |
| 4 | Brendan Hines-Ike | CB | (1994-11-30) November 30, 1994 (age 30) | 1 | 1 | 0 | KV Kortrijk (loan) |
| 13 | Frédéric Brillant | CB | (1985-06-26) June 26, 1985 (age 39) | 67 | 3 | 4 | New York City FC |
| 14 | Andy Najar | RB | (1993-03-16) March 16, 1993 (age 31) | 83 | 10 | 11 | Los Angeles 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) | 51 | 0 | 3 | Saprissa |
| 33 | Jacob Greene | LB / RB | (2003-03-23) March 23, 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 35 | Michael DeShields | CB | (1998-04-23) April 23, 1998 (age 26) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons |
| 93 | Tony Alfaro | CB | (1993-06-15) June 15, 1993 (age 31) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Reno 1868 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 5 | Júnior Moreno | DM | (1993-07-20) July 20, 1993 (age 31) | 50 | 0 | 5 | Zulia |
| 6 | Russell Canouse | DM | (1995-06-11) June 11, 1995 (age 29) | 57 | 2 | 2 | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim |
| 7 | Paul Arriola | RM | (1995-02-05) February 5, 1995 (age 29) | 68 | 14 | 12 | Tijuana |
| 10 | Edison Flores | AM / LW | (1994-05-14) May 14, 1994 (age 30) | 14 | 0 | 4 | Monarcas Morelia |
| 11 | Yamil Asad | LM / LW | (1994-07-24) July 24, 1994 (age 30) | 55 | 12 | 7 | Vélez Sarsfield |
| 12 | Drew Skundrich | CM | (1995-09-17) September 17, 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Loudoun United |
| 18 | Felipe | CM | (1990-09-30) September 30, 1990 (age 34) | 17 | 0 | 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| 27 | Moses Nyeman | CM | (2003-11-05) November 5, 2003 (age 21) | 11 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 30 | Kevin Paredes | MF | (2003-05-07) May 7, 2003 (age 21) | 17 | 0 | 1 | D.C. United Academy |
| 31 | Julian Gressel | RM | (1993-12-16) December 16, 1993 (age 31) | 23 | 2 | 0 | Atlanta United FC |
| | Jeremy Garay | MF | (2003-04-01) April 1, 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Ola Kamara | ST | (1989-10-15) October 15, 1989 (age 35) | 27 | 7 | 0 | Shenzhen |
| 16 | Adrien Perez | FW | (1995-10-13) October 13, 1995 (age 29) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Los Angeles FC |
| 17 | Kimarni Smith | FW | (1998-03-14) March 14, 1998 (age 26) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Clemson Tigers |
| 19 | Nigel Robertha | FW | (1998-03-13) March 13, 1998 (age 26) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Levski Sofia |
| 20 | Jovanny Bolívar | FW | (2001-12-16) December 16, 2001 (age 23) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Deportivo La Guaira (loan) |
| 22 | Griffin Yow | FW | (2002-09-25) September 25, 2002 (age 22) | 12 | 2 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 29 | Yordy Reyna | ST | (1993-09-17) September 17, 1993 (age 31) | 5 | 0 | 0 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| 32 | Ramón Ábila | ST | (1989-10-14) October 14, 1989 (age 35) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Boca Juniors (loan) |
* ↑ Though acquired off MLS waivers from Minnesota United FC, Abila's acquisition is considered an extension of his current loan agreement between Boca Juniors and MLS, as DC United paid $200,000 of the loan fee to Boca Juniors to complete the transfer.

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | No. | Name | From | Fee/notes |
| November 25, 2020 | DF | 33 | Jacob Greene | D.C. United Academy | Homegrown Player |
| January 6, 2021 | FW | 16 | Adrien Perez | Los Angeles FC | 2020 MLS Re-Entry Draft |
| January 8, 2021 | GK | 21 | Jon Kempin | Columbus Crew | Traded for third round pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft |
| February 5, 2021 | DF | 35 | Michael DeShields | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | Signed from the 2021 MLS SuperDraft |
| March 8, 2021 | FW | 17 | Kimarni Smith | Clemson Tigers | Signed from the 2021 MLS SuperDraft |
| March 23, 2021 | FW | 19 | Nigel Robertha | Levski Sofia | |
| April 15, 2021 | DF | 14 | Andy Najar | Los Angeles FC | |
| April 15, 2021 | DF | 93 | Tony Alfaro | Reno 1868 | |
| May 12, 2021 | MF | 12 | Drew Skundrich | Loudoun United | 2021 guaranteed, 2022–23 team options |
| July 2, 2021 | MF | | Jeremy Garay | D.C. United Academy | Homegrown Player |

### Out

| Date | Position | No. | Name | To | Fee/notes |
| November 30, 2020 | MF | 25 | Mohammed Abu | Vålerenga | End of loan |
| November 30, 2020 | GK | 36 | Earl Edwards Jr. | New England Revolution | Option Declined |
| November 30, 2020 | DF | 91 | Oniel Fisher | L.A. Galaxy | Option Declined |
| November 30, 2020 | FW | 20 | Gelmin Rivas | Al-Shorta | Option Declined |
| November 30, 2020 | DF | 44 | Axel Sjöberg | San Antonio FC | Option Declined |
| December 13, 2020 | MF | 8 | Ulises Segura | Austin FC | $150,000 GAM |

### Loan in

| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned from | Start | End |
| 4 | DF | Brendan Hines-Ike | Kortrijk | March 10, 2021 | December 31, 2021 |
| 20 | FW | Jovanny Bolívar | Guaira | March 10, 2021 | December 31, 2021 |
| 32 | FW | Ramón Ábila | Boca Juniors | August 12, 2021 | December 31, 2021 |

### Loan out

| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned to | Start | End |
| 35 | DF | Michael DeShields | Loudoun United | May 1, 2021 | October 30, 2021 |
| 17 | FW | Kimarni Smith | Loudoun United | June 25, 2021 | October 30, 2021 |
| 50 | FW | Erik Sorga | VVV-Venlo | August 12, 2021 | December 31, 2021 |

### MLS SuperDraft picks

2021 D.C. United SuperDraft Picks :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Status |
| 1 | 4 | Kimarni Smith | FW | Clemson | Signed to first team |
| 1 | 5 | Michael DeShields | DF | Wake Forest | Signed to first team |
| 2 | 32 | Logan Panchot | MF/DF | Stanford | Signed with Loudoun United FC |

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 6 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 51 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 7 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 48 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 8 | D.C. United | 34 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 56 | 54 | +2 | 47 | |
| 9 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 47 | |
| 10 | CF Montréal | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 46 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League |
* ↑ Canadian clubs cannot qualify for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League through the MLS regular season or playoffs.
* ↑ As 2021 Canadian Championship winners

##### Overall table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 14 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 48 | |
| 15 | LA Galaxy | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 48 | |
| 16 | D.C. United | 34 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 56 | 54 | +2 | 47 | |
| 17 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 47 | |
| 18 | CF Montréal (V) | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 46 | Qualification for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League |
* ↑ As 2021 Canadian Championship winners (CAN1)

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 22 | 30 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 8 | +10 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 24 | −7 |
Source:
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Stadium | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | |
| Result | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | W | D | L | W | L | D | W | D | W | W | L | L | L | W | D | |

#### Match results
### U.S. Open Cup

The U.S. Open Cup was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic for a second consecutive year.

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | MLS Cup | MLS Cup | Capital Cup | Capital Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | USA | Chris Seitz | 5 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Chris Odoi-Atsem | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Brendan Hines-Ike | 11 | 1 | 11+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | VEN | Júnior Moreno | 19 | 0 | 19+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | USA | Russell Canouse | 14 | 1 | 14+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | USA | Paul Arriola | 14 | 3 | 13+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | BRA | Felipe Martins | 21 | 2 | 5+15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | NOR | Ola Kamara | 19 | 16 | 13+6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | PER | Edison Flores | 13 | 2 | 10+3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Yamil Asad | 18 | 2 | 8+8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | USA | Drew Skundrich | 14 | 0 | 8+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | FRA | Frédéric Brillant | 20 | 1 | 14+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | HON | Andy Najar | 19 | 1 | 16+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | USA | Steve Birnbaum | 14 | 0 | 9+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | USA | Adrien Perez | 13 | 0 | 9+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Kimarni Smith | 4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | USA | Nicky Downs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | CUW | Nigel Robertha | 10 | 2 | 4+5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | VEN | Jovanny Bolívar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 |
| 21 | GK | USA | Jon Kempin | 12 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | USA | Griffin Yow | 11 | 1 | 1+8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | USA | Donovan Pines | 9 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | USA | Bill Hamid | 12 | 0 | 12+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | CIV | Gaoussou Samaké | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | LBR | Moses Nyeman | 19 | 0 | 10+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | CRC | Joseph Mora | 21 | 0 | 13+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | PER | Yordy Reyna | 15 | 4 | 6+8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | USA | Kevin Paredes | 18 | 2 | 14+4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | GER | Julian Gressel | 25 | 0 | 22+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | ARG | Ramón Ábila | 6 | 2 | 0+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | USA | Jacob Greene | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | TRI | Michael DeShields | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | CIV | Nanan Houssou | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 41 | FW | NIG | Kairou Amoustapha | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 50 | FW | EST | Erik Sorga | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | DF | SLV | Allexon Saravia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 93 | DF | MEX | Tony Alfaro | 22 | 0 | 18+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
* Last updated: September 22, 2021
* Source: Soccerway

### Top scorers

| Rank | Position | Number | Name | MLS | MLS Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | 9 | Ola Kamara | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| 2 | FW | 29 | Yordy Reyna | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | MF | 7 | Paul Arriola | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | MF | 10 | Edison Flores | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | MF | 11 | Yamil Asad | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | FW | 19 | Nigel Robertha | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | MF | 30 | Kevin Paredes | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | FW | 32 | Ramón Ábila | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | DF | 4 | Brendan Hines-Ike | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | 6 | Russell Canouse | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | DF | 13 | Frédéric Brillant | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | DF | 14 | Andy Najar | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | 22 | Griffin Yow | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | 8 | Felipe Martins | 1 | 0 | 1 |

### Top assists

| Rank | Position | Number | Name | MLS | MLS Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | 31 | Julian Gressel | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | FW | 9 | Ola Kamara | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | DF | 14 | Andy Najar | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | MF | 7 | Paul Arriola | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | MF | 10 | Edison Flores | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | MF | 5 | Júnior Moreno | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | FW | 16 | Adrien Perez | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | FW | 29 | Yordy Reyna | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | 11 | Yamil Asad | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | 6 | Russell Canouse | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | 8 | Felipe Martins | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | 22 | Griffin Yow | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | DF | 93 | Tony Alfaro | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | 12 | Drew Skundrich | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | 27 | Moses Nyeman | 1 | 0 | 1 |

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Player | MLS | MLS | MLS | MLS Cup | MLS Cup | MLS Cup | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Total | Total |

## Awards

Awards will be announced as the season begins.