Chris Rolfe
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 155 lbs
Position: Forward
Born: 1/17/1983
Hometown: Kettering, OH
Acquired: Previously with Chicago Fire, signed on April 2, 2014
D.C. United announced today that the club has acquired forward Chris Rolfe from the Chicago Fire in exchange for allocation money. Rolfe, 31, has made two appearances this season for the Fire, most recently as a stoppage time substitution in Chicago’s 2-2 draw with D.C. United on March 29.
“Chris brings great technical ability as well as National Team and European experience to our club,” said D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper. “He plays with a high soccer IQ and will give us more options in our attack. As a well-liked and respected veteran in our league, we look forward to him joining the team.”
A versatile and dynamic offensive player, Rolfe has 48 regular season goals and 22 assists over eight seasons in Major League Soccer with the Fire, including being named the team’s most valuable player in 2012. He also has 10 career appearances for the U.S. men’s national team. Rolfe registered career bests with nine goals and eight assists in 2008, when he led Chicago to the MLS Eastern Conference final.
In 2013, Rolfe made 26 starts in 31 matches, scoring four goals and adding one assist. He also started all four of Chicago’s matches in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, tallying three goals and an assist as the Fire reached the competition’s semifinals.
Rolfe returned to Chicago in 2012 following three seasons abroad and finished the year with eight goals and three assists, leading the Fire to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Chicago’s playoff absence coincided with Rolfe’s move to Danish Superliga club Aalborg BK, where he played in 32 matches and tallied six goals.
Chosen out of the University of Dayton by the Fire in the third round of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, Rolfe burst onto the scene with a team-high eight goals – the first rookie to lead the Fire in scoring – and five assists en route to being named a finalist for MLS Rookie of the Year and helping Chicago reach the MLS Eastern Conference final. He scored at least six goals in each of his first five seasons in Major League Soccer.
