# 2024 D.C. United season

The 2024 season was D.C. United's 29th in existence and its 29th consecutive season in the top division of American soccer, Major League Soccer. In addition to MLS, D.C. United participated in the 2024 Leagues Cup.
United finished the season 20th in the league and 10th in Eastern Conference, an improvement from 2023 where they finished 12th in the Eastern Conference, and 23rd overall. However, on the final day of the season, the club lost at home causing them to miss the playoffs for the fifth-consecutive season.
Christian Benteke finished the season with 23 goals in league play and 25 goals in all competitions, allowing him to win the MLS Golden Boot. Benteke became the first United player since Dwayne De Rosario in 2011 to win the Golden Boot.

## Background

The 2023 season was the first, and only, full season with Wayne Rooney in charge of managerial duties for United. Under Rooney's leadership the club improved in form and finishing with 40 points on the season, up from 27 the previous season. However, the improvement was not enough to qualify for the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, resulting in Rooney's dismissal. Despite calls for his resignation by fans, Sporting Director Dave Kasper was not fired during the offseason.
Outside of league play, United reached the fourth round of the 2023 U.S. Open Cup and the round of 32 in the 2023 Leagues Cup. Christian Benteke lead United with 14 goals across all competitions.

## Club
### Front office

| Position | Name |
| Chairman | Jason Levien |
| Co-Chairman | Stephen Kaplan |
| President | Danita Johnson |
| Senior Consultant | Dave Kasper |
| Chief Marketing Officer | Lisa Franklin |
| Senior Vice President | James Armold |
| Chief Financial Officer | Dan Franceschini |
| Chief Communications Officer | Zach Abaie |

### Team management and technical staff

| Position | Name |
| General Manager | Ally Mackay |
| Assistant GM | Caleb Shreve |
| Director of Player Personnel | Clarens Cheridieu |
| Head coach | Troy Lesesne |
| Assistant coach | Alex Martínez |
| Assistant coach | Zach Prince |
| Goalkeeping coach | Cody Mizell |

### First-team roster

| 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) | 47 | 0 | 0 | Minnesota United FC |
| 24 | Alex Bono | GK | (1994-04-25) April 25, 1994 (age 30) | 30 | 0 | 0 | Toronto FC |
| 26 | Nathan Crockford | GK | (2002-09-06) September 6, 2002 (age 22) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wisconsin Badgers |
| 56 | Luis Zamudio | GK | (1998-06-24) June 24, 1998 (age 26) | 0 | 0 | 0 | Loudoun United |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 3 | Lucas Bartlett | CB | (1997-07-26) July 26, 1997 (age 27) | 35 | 2 | 3 | St. Louis City SC |
| 4 | Matti Peltola | CB / DM | (2002-07-03) July 3, 2002 (age 22) | 34 | 0 | 0 | HJK Helsinki |
| 12 | Conner Antley | RB / CB | (1995-03-22) March 22, 1995 (age 29) | 7 | 0 | 1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| 16 | Garrison Tubbs | CB | (2002-02-17) February 17, 2002 (age 22) | 16 | 0 | 1 | Atlanta United FC |
| 22 | Aaron Herrera | RB | (1997-06-06) June 6, 1997 (age 27) | 33 | 1 | 5 | CF Montréal |
| 28 | David Schnegg | LB | (1998-09-29) September 29, 1998 (age 26) | 5 | 1 | 0 | Sturm Graz |
| 30 | Hayden Sargis | CB | (2002-05-02) May 2, 2002 (age 22) | 7 | 0 | 0 | Sacramento Republic |
| 45 | Matai Akinmboni | CB | (2006-10-17) October 17, 2006 (age 18) | 17 | 0 | 1 | D.C. United Academy |
| 97 | Christopher McVey | CB | (1997-04-12) April 12, 1997 (age 27) | 28 | 1 | 0 | Inter Miami FC |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 5 | Boris Enow | CM | (2000-03-30) March 30, 2000 (age 24) | 8 | 0 | 0 | Maccabi Netanya |
| 6 | Russell Canouse | DM | (1995-06-11) June 11, 1995 (age 29) | 142 | 5 | 6 | Hoffenheim |
| 7 | Pedro Santos | LM / RW | (1988-04-22) April 22, 1988 (age 36) | 54 | 4 | 4 | Columbus Crew |
| 8 | Jared Stroud | LW / RW | (1996-07-10) July 10, 1996 (age 28) | 36 | 5 | 9 | St. Louis City SC |
| 10 | Gabriel Pirani | AM | (2002-04-12) April 12, 2002 (age 22) | 46 | 7 | 1 | Santos FC |
| 14 | Martín Rodríguez | MF / LW | (1994-08-05) August 5, 1994 (age 30) | 41 | 2 | 4 | Altay SK |
| 18 | Jeremy Garay | MF | (2003-04-01) April 1, 2003 (age 21) | 3 | 0 | 0 | D.C. United Academy |
| 21 | Ted Ku-DiPietro | AM / SS | (2002-01-28) January 28, 2002 (age 23) | 70 | 8 | 8 | Loudoun United |
| 25 | Jackson Hopkins | AM / SS | (2004-07-01) July 1, 2004 (age 20) | 53 | 0 | 1 | D.C. United Academy |
| 43 | Mateusz Klich | CM | (1990-06-30) June 30, 1990 (age 34) | 70 | 7 | 13 | Leeds United |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 11 | Cristian Dájome | LW | (1994-01-03) January 3, 1994 (age 31) | 57 | 6 | 3 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| 17 | Jacob Murrell | FW | (2004-03-29) March 29, 2004 (age 20) | 30 | 1 | 2 | Georgetown Hoyas |
| 20 | Christian Benteke | ST | (1990-12-03) December 3, 1990 (age 34) | 74 | 40 | 8 | Crystal Palace |
| 23 | Dominique Badji | CF | (1992-10-16) October 16, 1992 (age 32) | 11 | 1 | 1 | Bandirmaspor |
| 27 | Kristian Fletcher | FW | (2004-10-16) October 16, 2004 (age 20) | 28 | 2 | 1 | Loudoun United |

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

MLS Eastern Conference table (2024) :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 8 | CF Montréal | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 48 | 64 | −16 | 43 | Qualification for the wild-card round and the 2025 Leagues Cup |
| 9 | Atlanta United FC | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 40 | Qualification for the wild-card round and the 2025 Leagues Cup |
| 10 | D.C. United | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 52 | 70 | −18 | 40 | |
| 11 | Toronto FC | 34 | 11 | 19 | 4 | 40 | 61 | −21 | 37 | |
| 12 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 37 | |

##### Overall table

Overall MLS standings table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 19 | FC Dallas | 34 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 54 | 56 | −2 | 41 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 20 | Atlanta United FC | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 40 | |
| 21 | D.C. United | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 52 | 70 | −18 | 40 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
| 22 | Toronto FC | 34 | 11 | 19 | 4 | 40 | 61 | −21 | 37 | |
| 23 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 37 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
* ↑ As one of the best U.S. teams in the overall table to not qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup
* 1 2 As one of the U.S. teams who did not qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup or the 2025 Leagues Cup

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 19, 2024. Source: MLS

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

The top eight teams that did not already qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, excluding the defending Open Cup champion, qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open Cup. D.C. United did not finish in one of the positions to qualify for the tournament.

### Leagues Cup
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DCU | SAN | ATL |
| 1 | D.C. United | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | — |
| 2 | Santos Laguna | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 2 | Advance to knockout stage | 0–3 | — | — |
| 3 | Atlanta United FC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | | 3–3 | 0–0 | — |

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

| Date | Position | No. | Name | From | Fee/notes |
| December 11, 2023 | MF | 8 | Jared Stroud | St. Louis City | Trade for Chris Durkin |
| December 11, 2023 | DF | 3 | Lucas Bartlett | St. Louis City | Trade for Chris Durkin |
| December 12, 2023 | DF | 22 | Aaron Herrera | CF Montréal | Trade for Ruan, $500,000 GAM |
| December 19, 2023 | DF | 16 | Garrison Tubbs | Atlanta United | $125K GAM, up to $150K extra for certain conditions |
| January 5, 2024 | FW | 17 | Jacob Murrell | Georgetown Hoyas | 2024 MLS SuperDraft pick Signed through 2026 with 2027 team option. |
| January 16, 2024 | GK | 26 | Nathan Crockford | Wisconsin Badgers | 2024 MLS SuperDraft pick Signed through 2024 with 2025-27 team options. |
| February 1, 2024 | DF | 97 | Christopher McVey | Inter Miami | 2024 International slot, up to $100K GAM to Miami |
| February 2, 2024 | DF | 4 | Matti Peltola | HJK Helsinki | Free Transfer |
| February 14, 2024 | DF | 12 | Conner Antley | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Signed through 2025, with 2026 team option |

#### Summer
##### First team

| Date | Position | No. | Name | From |
| July 18, 2024 | DF | 28 | David Schnegg | Sturm Graz |
| July 18, 2024 | FW | 23 | Dominique Badji | Bandırmaspor |
| July 22, 2024 | MF | 5 | Boris Enow | Maccabi Netanya |

##### Academy

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee/notes | Ref. |
| July 1, 2024 | FW | Gabrielius Mažonas | Žalgiris | Undisclosed | |

### Transfers out
#### First team
##### Winter

| Date | Position | No. | Name | To | Fee/notes |
| December 1, 2023 | MF | 49 | Ravel Morrison | Precision | Out of Contract |
| December 1, 2023 | DF | 3 | Derrick Williams | Atlanta United | Out of Contract |
| December 1, 2023 | DF | 23 | Donovan Pines | Barnsley | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | DF | 4 | Brendan Hines-Ike | Austin FC | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | DF | 14 | Andy Najar | Olimpia | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | DF | 31 | Eric Davis | Košice | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | DF | 33 | Jacob Greene | Columbus Crew 2 | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | DF | 72 | Gaoussou Samaké | Las Vegas Lights | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | MF | 22 | Yamil Asad | FC Cincinnati | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | FW | 9 | Erik Hurtado | Retired | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | FW | 19 | Nigel Robertha | Ittihad Kalba | Option Declined |
| December 1, 2023 | FW | 84 | José Fajardo | Independiente | Option Declined |
| December 11, 2023 | MF | 8 | Chris Durkin | St. Louis City | Trade, $300,000 GAM |
| December 12, 2023 | DF | 2 | Ruan | CF Montréal | Trade |

##### Summer

| Date | Position | No. | Name | To | Fee/notes | Ref. |
| June 3, 2024 | DF | 5 | Mohanad Jeahze | Lillestrøm | Contract Buyout | |
| July 16, 2024 | DF | 15 | Steve Birnbaum | Retired | Retired | |

#### Academy
##### Winter

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee/notes | Ref. |
| November 28, 2023 | FW | Adrian Buri | Old Dominion Monarchs | Signed NLI | |
| March 6, 2024 | DF | Ramsey Ray | College of Charleston Cougars | Signed NLI | |

##### Summer

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee/notes |
| April 11, 2024 | FW | Sydney Aggrey | Canisius Golden Griffins | Signed NLI |
| June 28, 2024 | MF | James Snaith | Brown Bears | Signed NLI |
| July 1, 2024 | MF | Edwin Rios | LA Galaxy | Free |
| July 3, 2024 | MF | Alessandro Maldonado | Istra 1961 | Free |
| July 15, 2024 | MF | Gabriel Cossio | MC Raptors | Signed NLI |
| August 1, 2024 | DF | Dash Papez | Princeton Tigers | Signed NLI |
| August 1, 2024 | DF | Justin Melly | Cornell Big Red | Signed NLI |
| September 1, 2024 | DF | Henrique Borges | Word of Life Huskies | Signed NLI |

### Loan out
#### First team

| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned to | Start | End | Source |
| 26 | FW | Kristian Fletcher | Swansea City | September 1, 2023 | February 1, 2024 | |
| 30 | DF | Hayden Sargis | Las Vegas Lights | March 5, 2024 March 26, 2024 | March 22, 2024 June 26, 2024 | [26] [27] [28] |
| 18 | MF | Jeremy Garay | El Paso Locomotive | March 13, 2024 | June 27, 2024 | |
| 56 | GK | Luis Zamudio | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | May 2, 2024 | July 10, 2024 | |
| 45 | DF | Matai Akinmboni | Loudoun United | May 14, 2024 | June 1, 2024 | [31] [32] |
| 27 | FW | Kristian Fletcher | Nottingham Forest | August 30, 2024 | June 30, 2025 | |

#### Academy

| Date | Pos. | Player | To | Date until |
| August 1, 2024 | DF | Dash Papez | Princeton Tigers | May 30, 2025 |
| August 1, 2024 | DF | Justin Melly | Cornell Big Red | May 30, 2025 |
| August 1, 2024 | MF | Gabriel Cossio | MC Raptors | May 30, 2025 |
| August 1, 2024 | MF | James Snaith | Brown Bears | May 30, 2025 |

### MLS SuperDraft picks

2024 D.C. United SuperDraft Picks :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Status |
| 1 | 7 | Jacob Murrell | FW | Georgetown | Signed with First Team |
| 2 | 36 | Brandon Parrish | MF | Clemson | Signed with Crown Legacy FC |
| 2 | 49 | Aldair Sanchez | DF | North Carolina | Stayed with Sacramento Republic |
| 3 | 65 | Nathan Crockford | GK | Wisconsin | Signed with First Team |
* ↑ Sanchez is currently under contract with the Sacramento Republic, but if he is signed to an MLS contract, DC United retains right of first refusal, and the MLS franchise signing him must pay adequate compensation to Sacramento.

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | USA | Tyler Miller | 5 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Lucas Bartlett | 26 | 1 | 23+1 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | FIN | Matti Peltola | 25 | 0 | 19+4 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | CMR | Boris Enow | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | USA | Russell Canouse | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | POR | Pedro Santos | 22 | 2 | 14+7 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | USA | Jared Stroud | 26 | 4 | 23+1 | 2 | 2+0 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Gabriel Pirani | 26 | 2 | 8+16 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | COL | Cristian Dájome | 24 | 4 | 19+3 | 3 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | USA | Conner Antley | 7 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | CHI | Martín Rodríguez | 16 | 1 | 6+10 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | USA | Garrison Tubbs | 12 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | USA | Jacob Murrell | 22 | 1 | 6+14 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | SLV | Jeremy Garay | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | BEL | Christian Benteke | 23 | 18 | 21+0 | 16 | 2+0 | 2 |
| 21 | MF | USA | Ted Ku-DiPietro | 21 | 3 | 18+2 | 2 | 1+0 | 1 |
| 22 | DF | GUA | Aaron Herrera | 24 | 1 | 22+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | SEN | Dominique Badji | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | USA | Alex Bono | 22 | 0 | 20+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | USA | Jackson Hopkins | 19 | 0 | 12+5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | USA | Nathan Crockford | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | USA | Kristian Fletcher | 13 | 1 | 1+12 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | AUT | David Schnegg | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | USA | Hayden Sargis | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | POL | Mateusz Klich | 25 | 2 | 23+0 | 2 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 45 | DF | LBR | Matai Akinmboni | 8 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 56 | GK | USA | Luis Zamudio | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 97 | DF | SWE | Christopher McVey | 21 | 1 | 19+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| Players who left during the season ||||||||||
| 5 | DF | IRQ | Mohanad Jeahze | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | USA | Steve Birnbaum | 6 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |

### Top scorers

| Rank | Position | No. | Name | MLS | Leagues Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | 20 | Christian Benteke | 16 | 2 | 18 |
| 2 | FW | 11 | Cristian Dájome | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | MF | 8 | Jared Stroud | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | MF | 21 | Ted Ku-DiPietro | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | MF | 7 | Pedro Santos | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | MF | 10 | Gabriel Pirani | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | MF | 43 | Mateusz Klich | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 6 players with 1 goal | 6 players with 1 goal | 6 players with 1 goal | 6 players with 1 goal | 6 players with 1 goal | 6 players with 1 goal |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 35 | 6 | 41 |
* Last updated: August 4, 2024
* Source: Team Stats

### Top assists

| Rank | Position | No. | Name | MLS | Leagues Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | 43 | Mateusz Klich | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| 1 | MF | 8 | Jared Stroud | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | MF | 22 | Aaron Herrera | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 | FW | 20 | Christian Benteke | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | FW | 14 | Martín Rodríguez | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | MF | 7 | Pedro Santos | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | DF | 3 | Lucas Bartlett | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 8 players with 1 assist | 8 players with 1 assist | 8 players with 1 assist | 8 players with 1 assist | 8 players with 1 assist | 8 players with 1 assist |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 41 | 4 | 45 |
* Last updated: August 4, 2024
* Source: Team Stats

### Hat-tricks

| Player | Against | Result | Date | Competition | Ref. |
| Christian Benteke | New England Revolution (H) | 3–1 | February 24 | MLS | |
| Christian Benteke | Atlanta United (A) | 3–2 | May 11 | MLS | |

### Disciplinary record

| Rank | No. | Pos. | Player | MLS | MLS | MLS | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| 1 | 11 | FW | Cristian Dájome | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 43 | MF | Mateusz Klich | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 20 | FW | Christian Benteke | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 22 | MF | Aaron Herrera | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 3 | DF | Lucas Bartlett | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |

## Honors and awards
### MLS Player of the Matchday

| Week | Player | Ref. |
| 1 | Christian Benteke | |
| 13 | Christian Benteke | |

### MLS Team of the Matchday

| Week | Player | Position |
| 1 | Christian Benteke | FW |
| 3 | Aaron Herrera | DF |
| 4 | Alex Bono | Bench |
| 6 | Christian Benteke | Bench |
| 7 | Mateusz Klich | MF |
| 9 | Aaron Herrera | Bench |
| 11 | Christian Benteke | FW |
| 12 | Jared Stroud | Bench |
| 13 | Christian Benteke | FW |
| 17 | Christian Benteke | Bench |
| 18 | Mateusz Klich | Bench |
| 26 | Cristian Dájome | MF |
| 27 | Christian Benteke | FW |