2024 D.C. United season explained

Season:	2024
League:	MLS
Chrtitle:	General manager
Chairman:	Ally Mackay
Mgrtitle:	Head coach
Manager:	Troy Lesesne
Stadium:	Audi Field
League Result:	Conference: 10th Overall: 20th
Cup1:	MLS Cup playoffs
Cup1 Result:	Did not qualify
Cup2:	U.S. Open Cup
Cup2 Result:	Did not qualify
Cup3:	Leagues Cup
Cup3 Result:	Round of 32
Highest Attendance:	19,365 v Inter Miami March 16 (MLS)
Lowest Attendance:	1,070 v Santos Laguna July 31 (Leagues Cup)
Largest Win:	3–0 v Santos Laguna (Home) July 31 (Leagues Cup)
Largest Loss:	0–5 v Orlando Coty (Away) July 6 (MLS)
League Topscorer:	Christian Benteke (23)
Season Topscorer:	Christian Benteke (25)
American:	true
Pattern La1:	_dcunited24h
Pattern B1:	_dcunited24h
Pattern Ra1:	_dcunited24h
Pattern Sh1:	_dcunited24h
Pattern So1:	_3_stripes_red
Leftarm1:	000000
Body1:	000000
Rightarm1:	000000
Shorts1:	000000
Socks1:	000000
Pattern La2:	_dcunited23a
Pattern B2:	_dcunited23a
Pattern Ra2:	_dcunited23a
Pattern Sh2:	_adidasshortblack
Pattern So2:	_color_3_stripes_black
Leftarm2:	ffffff
Body2:	ffffff
Rightarm2:	ffffff
Shorts2:	ffffff
Socks2:	ffffff
Prevseason:	2023
Nextseason:	2025

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

See main article: 2023 D.C. United season. 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.^[1] Despite calls for his resignation by fans, Sporting Director Dave Kasper was not fired during the offseason.^[2]

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	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Assists	Signed from
Goalkeepers
1	Tyler Miller		GK	12 March 1993	47	0	0	Minnesota United FC
24	Alex Bono		GK	25 April 1994	30	0	0	Toronto FC
26	Nathan Crockford		GK	6 September 2002	0	0	0	Wisconsin Badgers
56	Luis Zamudio		GK	24 June 1998	0	0	0	Loudoun United
Defenders
3	Lucas Bartlett		CB	26 July 1997	35	2	3	St. Louis City SC
4	Matti Peltola		CB / DM	3 July 2002	34	0	0	HJK Helsinki
12	Conner Antley		RB / CB	22 March 1995	7	0	1	Tampa Bay Rowdies
16	Garrison Tubbs		CB	17 February 2002	16	0	1	Atlanta United FC
22	Aaron Herrera		RB	6 June 1997	33	1	5	CF Montréal
28	David Schnegg		LB	29 September 1998	5	1	0	Sturm Graz
30	Hayden Sargis		CB	2 May 2002	7	0	0	Sacramento Republic
45	Matai Akinmboni		CB	17 October 2006	17	0	1	D.C. United Academy
97	Christopher McVey		CB	12 April 1997	28	1	0	Inter Miami FC
Midfielders
5	Boris Enow		CM	30 March 2000	8	0	0	Maccabi Netanya
6	Russell Canouse		DM	11 June 1995	142	5	6	Hoffenheim
7	Pedro Santos		LM / RW	22 April 1988	54	4	4	Columbus Crew
8	Jared Stroud		LW / RW	10 July 1996	36	5	9	St. Louis City SC
10	Gabriel Pirani		AM	12 April 2002	46	7	1	Santos FC
14	Martín Rodríguez		MF / LW	5 August 1994	41	2	4	Altay SK
18	Jeremy Garay		MF	1 April 2003	3	0	0	D.C. United Academy
21	Ted Ku-DiPietro		AM / SS	28 January 2002	70	8	8	Loudoun United
25	Jackson Hopkins		AM / SS	1 July 2004	53	0	1	D.C. United Academy
43	Mateusz Klich		CM	30 June 1990	70	7	13	Leeds United
Forwards
11	Cristian Dájome		LW	3 January 1994	57	6	3	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
17	Jacob Murrell		FW	29 March 2004	30	1	2	Georgetown Hoyas
20	Christian Benteke		ST	3 December 1990	74	40	8	Crystal Palace
23	Dominique Badji		CF	16 October 1992	11	1	1	Bandirmaspor
27	Kristian Fletcher		FW	16 October 2004	28	2	1	Loudoun United

Non-competitive

Friendlies

Competitive

Major League Soccer

See main article: 2024 Major League Soccer season.

Standings

Overall table

Match results

U.S. Open Cup

See main article: 2024 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.^[3]

Leagues Cup

See main article: 2024 Leagues Cup.

Group stage

See main article: 2024 Leagues Cup group stage.

Knockout stage

See main article: 2024 Leagues Cup knockout stage.

Transfers

Transfers in

Winter

Date	Position	No.	Name	From	Fee/notes	Ref.
	MF	8			Trade for Chris Durkin	^[4]
	DF	3			Trade for Chris Durkin
	DF	22			Trade for Ruan, $500,000 GAM	^[5]
	DF	16			$125K GAM, up to $150K extra for certain conditions	^[6]
	FW	17			2024 MLS SuperDraft pick Signed through 2026 with 2027 team option.	^[7]
	GK	26			2024 MLS SuperDraft pick Signed through 2024 with 2025-27 team options.	^[8]
	DF	97			2024 International slot, up to $100K GAM to Miami	^[9]
	DF	4			Free Transfer	^[10] ^[11]
	DF	12			Signed through 2025, with 2026 team option	^[12]

Summer

First team

Date	Position	No.	Name	From	Fee/notes	Ref.
	DF	28
	FW	23
	MF	5

Academy

Transfers out

First team

Winter

Date	Position	No.	Name	To	Fee/notes	Ref.
		49			Out of Contract
	DF	3			Out of Contract	^[13]
	DF	23			Option Declined
	DF	4			Option Declined
	DF	14			Option Declined
	DF	31			Option Declined
	DF	33			Option Declined
	DF	72			Option Declined
	MF	22			Option Declined
	FW	9		Retired	Option Declined
	FW	19			Option Declined
	FW	84			Option Declined
	MF	8			Trade, $300,000 GAM
	DF	2			Trade

Summer

Date	Position	No.	Name	To	Fee/notes	Ref.
	DF	5			Contract Buyout
	DF	15		Retired		^[14]

Academy

Winter

Date	Position	Name	To	Fee/notes	Ref.
		Adrian Buri			^[15]
March 6, 2024		Ramsey Ray		Signed NLI	^[16]

Summer

Date	Position	Name	To	Fee/notes	Ref.
April 11, 2024		Sydney Aggrey		Signed NLI	^[17]
June 28, 2024		James Snaith		Signed NLI	^[18]
July 1, 2024		Edwin Rios		Free
July 3, 2024		Alessandro Maldonado		Free	^[19]
July 15, 2024		Gabriel Cossio			^[20]
August 1, 2024		Dash Papez		Signed NLI	^[21]
		Justin Melly		Signed NLI	^[22]
September 1, 2024		Henrique Borges	Word of Life Huskies	Signed NLI	^[23]

Loan out

First team

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned to	Start	End	Source
26				September 1, 2023	February 1, 2024	^[24]
30				March 5, 2024 March 26, 2024	March 22, 2024 June 26, 2024	^[25] ^[26] ^[27]
18				March 13, 2024	June 27, 2024	^[28]
56	GK			May 2, 2024	July 10, 2024	^[29]
45	DF			May 14, 2024	June 1, 2024	^[30] ^[31]
27				August 30, 2024	June 30, 2025	^[32]

Academy

Date	Pos.	Player	To	Date until	Ref.
August 1, 2024		Dash Papez		May 30, 2025	^[33]
August 1, 2024		Justin Melly		May 30, 2025	^[34]
August 1, 2024		Gabriel Cossio		May 30, 2025	^[35]
August 1, 2024		James Snaith		May 30, 2025	^[36]

MLS SuperDraft picks

See main article: 2024 MLS SuperDraft.

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Status
1	7		FW		Signed with First Team
2	36		MF		Signed with Crown Legacy FC
2	49		DF	North Carolina^[37]	Stayed with Sacramento Republic
3	65		GK		Signed with First Team

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.|-|-!colspan="10"|Players who left during the season|-|}

Top scorers

Rank	Position	No.	Name			Total
1	FW	20		16	2	18
2	FW	11		3	1	4
	MF	8		2	2	4
4	MF	21		2	1	3
5	MF	7		2	0	2
	MF	10		2	0	2
	MF	43		2	0	2
8	6 players with 1 goal
Total				35	6	41 Top assists Rank Position No. Name Total 1 43 8 1 9 8 8 1 9 3 22 6 1 7 4 20 4 0 4 5 14 3 0 3 7 3 0 3 7 3 2 0 2 8 8 players with 1 assist Total 41 4 45 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 Leagues Cup Total 1 11 8 1 0 0 0 0 8 1 0 2 43 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 3 20 6 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 1 4 22 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 5 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 1 Honors and awards MLS Player of the Matchday Week Player Ref. 1 13 Christian Benteke MLS Team of the Matchday Week Player Position Ref. 1 3 4 Bench 6 Christian Benteke Bench 7 9 Aaron Herrera Bench 11 Christian Benteke 12 Bench 13 Christian Benteke 17 Christian Benteke Bench 18 Mateusz Klich Bench 26 27 Christian Benteke See also 2024 Loudoun United FC season External links D.C. United

Notes and References

1. Web site: D.C. United and Head Coach Wayne Rooney Have Mutually Agreed to Part Ways . dcunited.com . October 8, 2023 . October 7, 2023.
2. Web site: Dave Kasper interview . D.C. United . Facebook . October 28, 2023 . October 18, 2023.
3. News: Carisle . Jeff . U.S. Open Cup revamp: Only 8 MLS first teams . March 1, 2024 . . March 1, 2024 . en.
4. Web site: Bogert . Tom . St. Louis City agrees deal for D.C. United's Durkin . The Athletic . 7 December 2023 . en . 7 December 2023.
5. Web site: D.C. United Acquire Defender Aaron Herrera from CF Montréal in Exchange for $500K GAM and Defender Ruan . D.C. United . Major League Soccer . 12 December 2023 . en . 12 December 2023.
6. Web site: D.C. United Acquire Defender Garrison Tubbs from Atlanta United . D.C. United . Major League Soccer . 6 January 2024 . en . 21 December 2023.
7. Web site: Goff . Steven . Jacob Murrell to sign with D.C. United, departing Georgetown early . Washington Post . 6 January 2024 . 5 January 2024.
8. Web site: D.C. United Sign University of Wisconsin Goalkeeper Nathan Crockford . D.C. United . Major League Soccer . 16 January 2024 . 16 January 2024.
9. Web site: D.C. United Acquired Swedish Defender Christopher McVey from Inter Miami CF in Exchange for a 2024 International Slot . D.C. United . Major League Soccer . 1 February 2024 . en . 1 February 2024.
10. Web site: Goff . Steven . D.C. United makes first international move, acquiring Finland’s Matti Peltola . Washington Post . 29 January 2024 . 29 January 2024.
11. Web site: D.C. United Sign Finland National Team Midfielder Matti Peltola . D.C. United . Major League Soccer.
12. Web site: D.C. United Sign Defender Conner Antley from the Tampa Bay Rowdies . D.C. United . Major League Soccer . 14 February 2024 . en . 14 February 2024.
13. Web site: D.C. United Announce 2023 Roster Decisions DC United . D.C. United . Major League Soccer . 1 December 2023 . en . 1 December 2023.
14. Web site: Defender and Club Captain Steven Birnbaum Retires after 11 Seasons with D.C. United | DC United. dcunited.
15. Web site: Men's Soccer Announces Early 2024 signing class . odusports.com . November 2, 2024 . November 23, 2023.
16. RamTheBaller . 1765581342664798471 . I am blessed to announce that I have committed to The College of Charleston..
17. GriffsSoccer . 1778465937043153218 . Welcome to the Demske, Sydney Aggrey!.
18. Web site: Men's Soccer Announces Addition of Six Student-Athletes . brownbears.com . November 2, 2024 . June 28, 2024.
19. AlvaroDLaRocha . 1808559063120183303 . Alessandro ‘Niño’ Maldonado ya viste los colores del NK Istra 1961 de Croacia. El hondureño llega como agente libre con un contrato de 3 años (1+2) como se informó en exclusiva hace un mes. . es.
20. mc_raptorsmsoccer . C9c1Y9tOblJ . Gabriel Cossio has committed to the Raptors! From Fairfax, VA, Gabriel is a product of D.C. United’s academy. In 2022, he was a part of the D.C. United U16 side that won MLS Next. . July 15, 2024.
21. Web site: Dash Papez Men's Soccer . goprincetontigers.com . November 1, 2024.
22. Web site: Justin Melly - 2024-25 - Men's Soccer . cornellbigred.com . November 1, 2024.
23. Web site: Huskies Gain 2 Soccer Commits . huskies.wordoflife.edu . November 2, 2024.
24. Web site: DC United loan Kristian Fletcher to Swansea City U-21s. mlssoccer.com. September 7, 2023. September 20, 2023.
25. Web site: D.C. United Loan Defender Hayden Sargis to Las Vegas Lights FC . DC United . Major League Soccer . 14 March 2024 . 5 March 2024.
26. Web site: D.C. United Recall Defender Hayden Sargis from Las Vegas Lights FC Loan | DC United. dcunited.
27. Web site: D.C. United Defender Hayden Sargis Returns on Loan to Las Vegas Lights FC | DC United. dcunited.
28. Web site: Locomotive adds Jeremy Garay on loan from D.C. United . March 13, 2024 . EPLocomotoveFC.com . El Paso Locomotive FC . March 13, 2024.
29. Web site: Switchbacks FC Acquire Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio On Loan From D.C. United For 2024 . Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC . USL Championship . 15 May 2024 . 2 May 2024.
30. Web site: D.C. United Loan Defender Matai Akinmboni to Loudoun United FC DC United . D.C. United . Major League Soccer . 15 May 2024 . en . 14 May 2024.
31. Web site: D.C. United Recall Defender Matai Akinmboni from Loudoun United FC Loan | DC United. dcunited.
32. Web site: D.C. United Loans Homegrown Forward Kristian Fletcher to Nottingham Forest FC DC United . D.C. United . Major League Soccer . 30 August 2024 . en . 30 August 2024.
33. Web site: Dash Papez Men's Soccer . goprincetontigers.com . November 1, 2024.
34. Web site: Justin Melly - 2024-25 - Men's Soccer . cornellbigred.com . November 1, 2024.
35. mc_raptorsmsoccer . C9c1Y9tOblJ . Gabriel Cossio has committed to the Raptors! From Fairfax, VA, Gabriel is a product of D.C. United’s academy. In 2022, he was a part of the D.C. United U16 side that won MLS Next. . July 15, 2024.
36. Web site: Men's Soccer Announces Addition of Six Student-Athletes . brownbears.com . November 2, 2024 . June 28, 2024.
37. 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.