# 2003 D.C. United season

The 2003 D.C. United season was the clubs' ninth year of existence, as well as their seventh season in Major League Soccer.
Led by Ray Hudson, D.C. United's 2003 campaign was highlighted by the club's return to the MLS Cup Playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 1999. In the playoffs, United who didn't qualify for the playoffs until the final day of the regular season, took on the Eastern Conference regular season champions, Chicago Fire. The Fire defeated United 4–0 on aggregates in the conference semifinals, winning each leg by a 2–0 margin of victory.

## Background

| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (Age) |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Doug Warren | GK | (1981-03-18) March 18, 1981 (age 43) |
| 18 | Nick Rimando | GK | (1979-06-17) June 17, 1979 (age 45) |
| 28 | Clint Baumstark | GK | (1983-01-09) January 9, 1983 (age 42) |
| Wingers |||||||||
| 8 | Hristo Stoichkov | | (1966-02-08) February 8, 1966 (age 59) |
| Strikers |||||||||
| 11 | Alecko Eskandarian | | (1978-07-09) July 9, 1978 (age 46) |
| 17 | Ali Curtis | | (1978-12-18) December 18, 1978 (age 46) |
| 19 | Devin Barclay | | (1983-04-09) April 9, 1983 (age 41) |
| 27 | Ronald Cerritos | | (1975-01-03) January 3, 1975 (age 50) |
| 29 | Thiago Martins | | (1976-09-04) September 4, 1976 (age 48) |

## Review
### November

On November 1, 2003, D.C. United played their first playoff match in nearly four years, entering the 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. In the Conference semifinals, United faced the Eastern Conference regular season champions, Chicago Fire. The two-match, aggregate series was first contested at United's RFK Stadium. The match ended in a 2–0 defeat thanks to goals from the Fire's Andy Williams and Ante Razov in the 4th and 94th minutes, respectively.
A week later, on November 9, 2003, the second leg was played at Chicago Fire's Soldier Field, where the Fire defeated United by the same 2–0 scoreline, thus ultimately winning the series 4–0 on aggregate, and advancing to the Eastern Conference championship. The defeat ended United's playoff campaign and their season altogether.

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 53 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | New England Revolution | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 45 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | MetroStars | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 42 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | D.C. United | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 39 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 38 | |

##### Overall table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Chicago Fire (S) | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 53 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| 2 | San Jose Earthquakes (C) | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 45 | |
| 4 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 42 | |
| 5 | MetroStars | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 42 | |
| 6 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 40 | |
| 7 | D.C. United | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 39 | |
| 8 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 38 | |
| 9 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 36 | |
| 10 | Dallas Burn | 30 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 35 | 64 | −29 | 23 | |

#### Match results
### MLS Cup Playoffs
### U.S. Open Cup
## 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 | US Open Cup | US Open Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | USA | Doug Warren | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | USA | David Stokes | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | BUL | Galin Ivanov | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Brandon Prideaux | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | HON | Milton Reyes | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | NZL | Ryan Nelsen | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | BUL | Hristo Stoitchkov | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | USA | Earnie Stewart | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | BOL | Marco Etcheverry | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | USA | Alecko Eskandarian | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | USA | Mike Petke | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | PER | Jose Alegria | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | USA | Ben Olsen | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | USA | Bobby Convey | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | USA | Brian Carroll | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | USA | Nick Rimando | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | USA | Devin Barclay | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | SLV | Eliseo Quintanilla | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | UKR | Dema Kovalenko | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | USA | Trevor Perea | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | USA | Santino Quaranta | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | USA | Bryan Namoff | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | SLV | Ronald Cerritos | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | USA | Clint Baumstark | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | BRA | Thiago Martins | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Last updated: November 1, 2003
* Source: Soccerway

## Transfers
### MLS SuperDraft picks

D.C. United made a total of seven selections in the 2003 MLS Draft. Five of the draft picks were ultimately signed for the 2003 season.
2003 D.C. United SuperDraft Picks :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Status |
| 1 | 1 | Alecko Eskandarian | FW | Virginia | Signed to first team |
| 1 | 5 | David Stokes | DF | North Carolina | Signed to first team |
| 2 | 11 | Brian Carroll | MF | Wake Forest | Signed with first team |
| 2 | 14 | Doug Warren | GK | Clemson | Signed with first team |
| 4 | 31 | Hayden Woodworth | MF | Messiah | Did not sign |
| 5 | 41 | John Swann | DF | Indiana | Did not sign |
| 6 | 51 | Michael Behonick | GK | American | Signed with first team |