Washington, D.C. (December 10, 2009) - D.C. United announced today that former Black-and-Red standouts Raul Diaz Arce and Richie Williams will be honored by the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame. United play-by-play announcer Dave Johnson will also be recognized for his meritorious service at the event. Inductions will be presented at the Virginia Youth Soccer Convention on January 23, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal in Arlington, Va. This year’s inductees join other D.C. United Alumni John Harkes, Marco Etcheverry, Jeff Agoos, coach Bruce Arena, President & CEO Kevin Payne and television commentator Gordon Bradley.
Diaz Arce was one of the most prolific scorers in MLS history. His finishes helped United capture two MLS Cup trophies (1996, 1997), a U.S. Open Cup championship (1996) and the Supporters’ Shield trophy (1997). The Salvadoran icon was United’s top goal scorer with 23 goals during the 1996 season and ranked second in the League behind Tampa Bay’s Roy Lassiter. Diaz Arce is the club’s second all-time leading goal scorer with 44 goals in 68 games and ranks first with an average of 0.65 goals per game. He played six seasons in MLS, three with United (1996-1997, 2000-2001) and, at the time he ended his MLS career in 2001, was second in career goals with 82.
Williams played eight years in Major League Soccer, spending six of those seasons playing for D.C. United (1996-2000, 2002). He was a member of D.C. United’s MLS Cup championship teams in 1996, 1997 and 1999. Over the course of his MLS career, the central midfielder saw action in 216 regular season games, starting 211 of them. He tallied eight goals and 33 assists during that time. At the University of Virginia he was a part of two NCAA National Championship teams in 1989 and 1991 while playing for coach Bruce Arena.
Johnson serves as the Sports Director and is an award-winning morning sports anchor on WTOP (103.5 FM). Johnson has worked with many teams in the Washington D.C. area, but is best known in the soccer community as the television play-by-play voice of D.C. United. He has held this role since the team’s inception in 1996. He has done play-by-play for both outdoor and indoor soccer for close to 20 years, appearing on Comcast SportsNet, Fox Soccer Channel, Prime Network, ESPN and Pax Networks. On the radio, Johnson has been recognized as Best Radio Sportscaster in Washington, winning three A.I.R. awards.
For a complete list of inductees and more information, please visit the VA-DC Soccer Hall of Fame at http://www.vadcsoccerhof.org/inductees/index_E.html.
Broadcasting and P.A. Request: When speaking of the organization, please refer to the team as either “D.C. United” or “United,” but not “the D.C. United” or “the United.” We appreciate your cooperation.
Doug Hicks,
dhicks@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5448,
Boris Flores,
bflores@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5452,
Kyle Sheldon,
ksheldon@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5450 or
Cristina Cruz,
ccruz@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5440
