United Notebook
Today, D.C. United travels to Bradenton, Florida for the first part of preseason. The Black-and-Red's newest signing had a bit of trouble with his flight, but Ethan White came to the rescue.
Bags on bags on bags #packing ... Florida tomorrow twitter.com/Tkemp02/status…
— Taylor Kemp (@Tkemp02) January 19, 2013
DC to Bradenton.
— Ethan White (@EthanWhite15) January 20, 2013
Haha first flight as a pro and @tkemp02 can't get it right haha text me when you can dude.
— Ethan White (@EthanWhite15) January 20, 2013
Just landed in Florida off to Bradenton legggo ...
— Jamaican (@MichaelSeatonn) January 20, 2013
Hotel da Primeira viajem da Pre temporada... #Florida#VamuqVamu# instagr.am/p/Ut3VmVPser/
—M.Saragosa (@MarceloSaragosa) January 20, 2013
Home for the next 12 days.Sarasota, Florida instagr.am/p/Ut1v1nueiw/
— Chris Pontius (@ChrisPontius13) January 20, 2013
Home for the next week and a half. Can't complain. #preseason #dcu twitter.com/EthanWhite15/s…
— Ethan White (@EthanWhite15) January 20, 2013
With their call-up to the Canadian Men's National Team, Dwayne De Rosario and Dejan Jakovic will head to Pheonix, Arizona for ten days, before joining the Black-and-Red.
Looking forward to rejoining the #canMNT for our upcoming camp
— Dwayne De Rosario (@dwaynederosario) January 18, 2013
Off to Phoenix
— Dejan Jakovic (@DejanJakovic) January 20, 2013
Early morning flight to Phoenix...
— Dwayne De Rosario (@dwaynederosario) January 20, 2013
Today United Builds participated in the Greater DC Cares' MLK Day of Service. A group of 15 volunteers, including Lance Rozeboom, from the club spent the day beautifying Jan's Tutoring House. Among other tasks, the volunteers refurbished the library, painted, and cleaned the facility.
Through the United Builds program, the D.C. United staff, players and fans work together on community projects and initiatives benefiting a variety of non-profit organizations. The Greater DC Cares' MLK Day of Service is an initiative that brings thousands of people together each year to participate in various community services around Washington DC.
D.C. United's draft pick was not in Indianapolis at the SuperDraft, but that does not mean that he wasn't just as nervous and excited for the day. In a Q&A yesterday with dcunited.com the rookie said of his new club, "that was the club that like I always kind of dreamed about joining, and for that to actually happen is, ya know, I cant even really describe how happy I am right now."
A friend of the Colorado native shared the below Tweet after spending draft day with Taylor:
What a day; @dcunited got a good one! Here's @tkemp02 demonstrating the angst & joy that is the @mls #SuperDraft: twitter.com/JulianValentin…
— Julian Valentin (@JulianValentin) January 18, 2013
With the combine and SuperDraft coming to a close, the 2013 season feels closer than ever. The team will report to their first training session tomorrow, before departing for Florida this weekend.
Ahead of the start of preseason, rumors continue to circle about Andy Najar and whether he will remain with Anderlecht after his one month loan. But head coach Ben Olsen told MLSsoccer.com that he's "Expecting Andy to be back. That's what I'm preparing for."
With the 17th overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, D.C. United chose a defender out of the University of Maryland. Taylor reacted immediately to the news:
DC UNITED!! So happy can't even explain it!! Can't wait to get out there and get going @mls @dcunited
— Taylor Kemp (@Tkemp02) January 17, 2013
Fans, teammates and media welcomed the young lefty through Tweets:
Congrats to my boy and fellow #terp @tkemp02 on getting drafted. Couldn't be happier to have join #DCU.
— Ethan White (@EthanWhite15) January 17, 2013
MSoc: Taylor Kemp will be staying local as he's selected by @dcunited with the 17th overall pick! #MLSSuperDraft
— Maryland Athletics (@umterps) January 17, 2013
Alumni Taylor Kemp, selected by DC United in the 1st round, and Drew Beckie, selected by Columbus in the 2nd round, find homes in MLS Draft!
— Real Colorado Soccer (@RealColoSoccer) January 17, 2013
Meanwhile... @dcunited just got their left back of the future! Can't wait for the new season
— Brandon Zebron (@Zebron_James18) January 17, 2013
Staying home! Taylor Kemp selected by @dcunited with 17th overall pick!
— Maryland MenSoccer (@MarylandMSoccer) January 17, 2013
@dcunited keeping it in md as always. Cant wait for the chemistry with kitchen
— zachary trout (@zacharytrout2) January 17, 2013
@tkemp02 Welcome to @dcunited !!! Can't wait to see what you bring to the mighty black and red! #vamos
— Stephanie Zok (@StephZok) January 17, 2013
“@dcunited: With the 17th pick overall in the 2013 #SuperDraft, #DCU selects defender Taylor Kemp." Yay! From the terps to dc united!
— Lindsay Derby (@lulubelle228) January 17, 2013
Former D.C. United defender Jeff Agoos – who helped lead the club to three MLS Cups in the first four MLS seasons – sat down with USsoccer.com to discuss the beginning of his National Team career. The U.S. Soccer Federation has been in operation since 1913, and is celebrating its Centennial this year.
On January 10, 1988, still at UVA under Head Coach Bruce Arena, Agoos received his first cap with the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT). The squad played in a friendly against Guatemala and, in the second of the two-game series, Agoos recorded his first international goal. Describing it as a simple tap-in, Agoos would go on to score three more times in 132 additional USMNT appearances, and would be on the roster for two FIFA World Cups.
Today, D.C. United's Andy Najar played 90 minutes, in a friendly, for R.S.C. Anderlecht in a 4-2 victory over Dutch side SC Heracles Almelo. Najar is with Anderlecht for a one month loan, and will report back with D.C. United for preseason when his loan is complete.
In other news, D.C. United and the Columbus Crew announced today that the clubs will meet on January 26 for a preseason friendly. Both teams will be in Bradenton, Florida for Central Florida Soccer Spring Training.
The Washington Nationals’ very own Bryce Harper is one of seven stars in contention to be on the cover of “MLB 13 The Show,” a new video game. Voting is easy in this social media contest:
- Tweet using the hasghtag #MLB13Harper on Twitter
- Vote Online
Voting ends at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, January 11. Fans can vote up to 25 times per day.
2012 was a good year for D.C. Sports. D.C. United, the Washington Nationals, the Washington Capitals and the Washington Redskins each qualified for their respective post seasons with United reaching the Eastern Conference Final, the Nationals reaching game 5 of the National League Divisional Series and the Capitals finding their way into the Conference Semifinals. The Black-and-Red supports all D.C. Teams!
Vote #MLB13Harper today
Well folks, it’s about that time. We’re halfway through D.C. United’s shortest offseason in its history and, coincidentally, exactly two months away from our home opener on Saturday, March 9 against Real Salt Lake. Not only that, but the full-season MLS schedule was just announced today, so there’s plenty to be excited about.
March is sneaking up on us, and we like it.
Below is the duration between each season. We measured it by examining the club’s final regular-season or playoff (if applicable) game and the first MLS match of the ensuing campaign.
LENGTH BETWEEN EACH SEASON
1996 to 1997: 160 days
1997 to 1998: 140 days
1998 to 1999: 146 days
1999 to 2000: 125 days
2000 to 2001: 210 days
2001 to 2002: 196 days
2002 to 2003: 205 days
2003 to 2004: 146 days
2004 to 2005: 146 days
2005 to 2006: 154 days
2006 to 2007: 153 days
2007 to 2008: 149 days
2008 to 2009: 157 days
2009 to 2010: 154 days
2010 to 2011: 147 days
2011 to 2012: 140 days
2012 to 2013: 104 days
After D.C. United’s schedule was released, we decided to take a closer look and highlight some things you might have missed if you were just glancing through. One thing is consistent with this year’s schedule: it provides all United fans great opportunity to catch their club at RFK Stadium. Instead of multiple mid-week games last year, D.C. United only plays once on a Wednesday at home. Most home games are on Saturdays, and have an earlier time-slot at 7:00 instead of 7:30 (for non-nationally televised games). Check out more on the schedule below:
- D.C. United plays on national television 12 times throughout the year. Two of those games are on NBC (D.C. United has two of the three games on the NBC network this year).
- D.C. United plays five games in June and August, while the Black-and-Red play four games in the months of March, April, May, July, September and October.
- D.C. United ends the season with six Eastern Conference foes (New England, Toronto, Chicago, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Houston), three are on the road and three are at RFK.
- The Black-and-Red play on NBC twice, ESPN2 once, NBC Sports Network six times, and UniMas three times.
- Rivalry week: Week three of the MLS season is rivalry week with D.C. United facing off against its Eastern Conference rival, the New York Red Bulls.
- Mark your calendars: D.C. United will play against the 2012 Supporters Shield winners San Jose Earthquakes at home on 6/22 at 7:00pm and play against the regular season Eastern Conference Champions Sporting Kansas City at home on 5/19 at 5:00pm.
- Beat the heat: Between June and September, where average temperatures and humidity in the nation’s capital soar, D.C. United has no games during the daytime.
With an array of family and budget friendly ticket packages, from season tickets to a four-game entry package, it's never been easier to be a part of the Black-and-Red. Buy your season tickets, half-season tickets, or four-game plans today HERE.
