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 Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Apps Goals Assists Signed from Goalkeepers 1 Chris Seitz GK 800 Houston Dynamo 21 Jon Kempin GK 000 Columbus Crew 24 Bill Hamid GK 238 0 0 Midtjylland Defenders 3Chris Odoi-Atsem RB 3010 Maryland Terrapins 4Brendan Hines-Ike CB 110 KV Kortrijk (loan) 13 Frédéric Brillant CB 67 3 4 New York City FC 14 Andy Najar RB 83 10 11 Los Angeles FC 15Steve Birnbaum CB 16383 California Golden Bears 23Donovan Pines CB 1000 Maryland Terrapins 28Joseph Mora LB 5103 Saprissa 33Jacob Greene LB / RB 000 D.C. United Academy 35Michael DeShields CB 000 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 93Tony Alfaro CB 100 Reno 1868 Midfielders 5Júnior Moreno DM 5005 Zulia 6Russell Canouse DM 5722 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 7Paul Arriola RM 681412 Tijuana 10Edison Flores AM / LW 14 0 4 Monarcas Morelia 11Yamil AsadLM / LW 55 12 7 Vélez Sarsfield 12Drew SkundrichCM 0 0 0 Loudoun United 18Felipe CM 1701 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 27Moses Nyeman CM1100 D.C. United Academy30Kevin Paredes MF 17 0 1 D.C. United Academy31Julian Gressel RM 23 2 0 Atlanta United FCJeremy Garay MF 0 0 0 D.C. United Academy Forwards 9Ola Kamara ST 2770 Shenzhen 16Adrien PerezFW100 Los Angeles FC17 Kimarni Smith FW000 Clemson Tigers 19 Nigel Robertha FW100 Levski Sofia20Jovanny Bolívar FW000 Deportivo La Guaira (loan) 22Griffin Yow FW1220 D.C. United Academy29Yordy ReynaST500 Vancouver Whitecaps FC32Ramón ÁbilaST000 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 Ref. 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 FW17 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 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 Ref. November 30, 2020 MF 25 Mohammed Abu Vålerenga End of loan GK 36 Earl Edwards Jr. New England Revolution Option Declined DF 91 Oniel Fisher L.A. Galaxy Option Declined FW 20 Gelmin Rivas Al-Shorta Option Declined 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 Source 4DF Brendan Hines-Ike Kortrijk 20FW Jovanny Bolívar Guaira 32 FW Ramón Ábila Boca Juniors
Loan out No. Pos. Player Loaned to Start End Source 35 DF Michael DeShields Loudoun United 17 FW Kimarni Smith Loudoun United 50 FW Erik Sorga VVV-Venlo
MLS SuperDraft picks
Round Selection Player Position College Status14 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
Non-competitive
Preseason
Midseason friendlies
Competitive
Major League Soccer
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results by round
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.
Top scorers RankPositionNumberNameTotal 1 FW 9 Ola Kamara 16 0 16 2 FW 29 Yordy Reyna 4 0 4 3 MF 7 Paul Arriola 3 0 34MF10Edison Flores202MF11Yamil Asad202FW19Nigel Robertha202MF30Kevin Paredes202FW32Ramón Ábila2029DF4Brendan Hines-Ike101MF6Russell Canouse101DF13Frédéric Brillant101DF14Andy Najar101FW22Griffin Yow101MF8Felipe Martins101
Top assists RankPositionNumberNameTotal1MF31Julian Gressel5052FW9Ola Kamara303DF14Andy Najar3034MF7Paul Arriola202MF10Edison Flores202MF5Júnior Moreno202FW16Adrien Perez2028FW29Yordy Reyna101MF11Yamil Asad101MF6Russell Canouse101MF8Felipe Martins101FW22Griffin Yow101DF93Tony Alfaro101MF12Drew Skundrich101MF27Moses Nyeman101
Disciplinary record PlayerMLSMLS CupU.S. Open CupTotal
Awards Awards will be announced as the season begins.
References
External links D.C. United