D.C. United Homegrown defender Donovan Pines has been named to the 2019 Homegrown Game roster. The Maryland native has shown immense promise as a future pillar in Ben Olsen’s D.C. United.
The team, coached by Orlando City SC academy director Marcelo Neveleff, will face Chivas de Guadalajara’s Under-20 Team on July 30 at 5 pm ET at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla. The match will be broadcasted on TUDN and streamed on Twitter.
Pines is still in his first season with D.C. United but has shown great potential as a central defender. He earned his first MLS start on the road against the Colorado Rapids. Pines played a full 90-minutes and collected his first MLS assist on the game-winning goal to teammate, Luciano Acosta as D.C. United won the contest 3-2
Pines then went on to start three of the next four matches for United - against Sporting Kansas City, Minnesota United and the Columbus Crew. D.C. United went on to win three of the four contests that Pines started in. However, a minor injury setback has sidelined him since the beginning of May.
Pines recently made his return the pitch on July 4, against FC Dallas. He was subbed on in the 77th minute of the contest as United were down 2-0 to the Dallas side. In total Pines has appeared in five games (four starts) for D.C. United during his first season. He has totaled 373 minutes played and collected one assist, the 6'5" center back has won 15 aerials and earned 18 headed clearances in just five games played.
Following the Homegrown Game, MLS fans can also experience the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by Target at 8 p.m. ET at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
