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 Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Apps Goals Assists Signed from Goalkeepers1Tyler MillerGK4700 Minnesota United FC24Alex BonoGK3000 Toronto FC26Nathan CrockfordGK000 Wisconsin Badgers56Luis ZamudioGK000 Loudoun United Defenders3 Lucas BartlettCB3523 St. Louis City SC 4Matti PeltolaCB / DM3400 HJK Helsinki12Conner AntleyRB / CB701 Tampa Bay Rowdies16 Garrison TubbsCB1601 Atlanta United FC22 Aaron HerreraRB3315 CF Montréal 28David SchneggLB510 Sturm Graz 30Hayden SargisCB700 Sacramento Republic 45Matai AkinmboniCB1701 D.C. United Academy 97Christopher McVeyCB2810 Inter Miami FC Midfielders5Boris EnowCM800 Maccabi Netanya 6Russell CanouseDM14256 Hoffenheim 7Pedro SantosLM / RW 5444 Columbus Crew8 Jared StroudLW / RW3659 St. Louis City SC 10Gabriel PiraniAM4671 Santos FC14Martín Rodríguez MF / LW4124 Altay SK 18Jeremy Garay MF300 D.C. United Academy 21Ted Ku-DiPietroAM / SS7088 Loudoun United 25Jackson HopkinsAM / SS5301 D.C. United Academy43 Mateusz KlichCM70713 Leeds United Forwards11Cristian DájomeLW5763 Vancouver Whitecaps FC17 Jacob MurrellFW3012 Georgetown Hoyas20Christian BentekeST74408 Crystal Palace23Dominique BadjiCF1111 Bandirmaspor27Kristian FletcherFW2821 Loudoun United
Non-competitive
Friendlies
Competitive
Major League Soccer
Standings Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
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
Knockout stage
Transfers
Transfers in
Winter Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref. MF 8 Jared Stroud St. Louis City Trade for Chris Durkin DF 3 Lucas Bartlett St. Louis City Trade for Chris Durkin DF 22 Aaron Herrera CF Montréal Trade for Ruan, $500,000 GAM DF 16 Garrison Tubbs Atlanta United $125K GAM, up to $150K extra for certain conditions FW 17 Jacob Murrell Georgetown Hoyas 2024 MLS SuperDraft pick Signed through 2026 with 2027 team option. GK 26 Nathan Crockford Wisconsin Badgers 2024 MLS SuperDraft pick Signed through 2024 with 2025-27 team options. DF 97 Christopher McVey Inter Miami 2024 International slot, up to $100K GAM to Miami DF 4 Matti Peltola HJK Helsinki Free Transfer DF 12 Conner Antley Tampa Bay Rowdies Signed through 2025, with 2026 team option
Summer
First team Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref. DF 28 David Schnegg Sturm Graz FW 23 Dominique Badji Bandırmaspor 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 Ref. MF 49 Ravel Morrison Precision Out of Contract DF 3 Derrick Williams Atlanta United Out of Contract DF 23 Donovan Pines Barnsley Option Declined DF 4 Brendan Hines-Ike Austin FC Option Declined DF 14 Andy Najar Olimpia Option Declined DF 31 Eric Davis Košice Option Declined DF 33 Jacob Greene Columbus Crew 2 Option Declined DF 72 Gaoussou Samaké Las Vegas Lights Option Declined MF 22 Yamil Asad FC Cincinnati Option Declined FW 9 Erik Hurtado Retired Option Declined FW 19 Nigel Robertha Ittihad Kalba Option Declined FW 84 José Fajardo Independiente Option Declined MF 8 Chris Durkin St. Louis City Trade, $300,000 GAM DF 2 Ruan CF Montréal Trade
Summer
Date Position No. Name To Fee/notes Ref. DF 5 Mohanad Jeahze Lillestrøm Contract Buyout DF 15 Steve Birnbaum Retired
Academy Winter Date Position Name To Fee/notes Ref. FW Adrian Buri Old Dominion Monarchs Signed NLI March 6, 2024 DF Ramsey Ray Signed NLI
Summer Date Position Name To Fee/notes Ref. 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 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 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 27 FW Kristian Fletcher Nottingham Forest August 30, 2024 June 30, 2025
Academy DatePos.PlayerToDate untilRef. 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
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 CarolinaSanchez 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. Stayed with Sacramento Republic 3 65 Nathan Crockford GK Wisconsin 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 {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|Rank ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|Position ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|No. ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526;" scope="col"|Name ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"|Total |- | 1 || FW || 20 ||align="left"| Christian Benteke || 16 || 2 || 18 |- |rowspan="2"| 2 || FW || 11 ||align="left"| Cristian Dájome || 3 || 1 || 4 |- | MF || 8 ||align="left"| Jared Stroud || 2 || 2 || 4 |- | 4 || MF || 21 ||align="left"| Ted Ku-DiPietro || 2 || 1 || 3 |- |rowspan="3"| 5 || MF || 7 ||align="left"| Pedro Santos || 2 || 0 || 2 |- | MF || 10 ||align="left"| Gabriel Pirani || 2 || 0 || 2 |- | MF || 43 || align="left"| Mateusz Klich || 2 || 0 || 2 |- | 8 ||colspan=6| 6 players with 1 goal |- !colspan="4"|Total !35!!6!!41
Top assists
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|Rank ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|Position ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:35px;" scope="col"|No. ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:150px;" scope="col"|Name ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #E32526; width:75px;" scope="col"|Total |- |rowspan="2"| 1 || MF || 43 ||align="left"| Mateusz Klich || 8 || 1 || 9 |- | MF || 8 ||align="left"| Jared Stroud || 8 || 1 || 9 |- | 3 || MF || 22 ||align="left"| Aaron Herrera || 6 || 1 || 7 |- | 4 || FW || 20 ||align="left"| Christian Benteke || 4 || 0 || 4 |- |rowspan="2"| 5 || FW || 14 ||align="left"| Martín Rodríguez || 3 || 0 || 3 |- | MF || 7 ||align="left"| Pedro Santos || 3 || 0 || 3 |- | 7 || DF || 3 ||align="left"| Lucas Bartlett || 2 || 0 || 2 |- | 8 ||colspan=7| 8 players with 1 assist
!colspan="4"|Total !41!!4!!45
Hat-tricks PlayerAgainstResultDateCompetitionRef. Christian BentekeNew England Revolution (H)3–1February 24MLS Christian BentekeAtlanta United (A)3–2May 11MLS
Disciplinary record Rank No. Pos. PlayerMLSLeagues CupTotal 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 WeekPlayerRef. 1 Christian Benteke 13 Christian Benteke
MLS Team of the Matchday
WeekPlayerPositionRef. 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
See also 2024 Loudoun United FC season
Notes
References
External links D.C. United