DC United opened their 2025 season with a sloppy but relatively entertaining 2-2 draw against Toronto FC last Saturday (February 22).
The Screaming Eagles had their first tailgate of the season at the Henson Conservation Center, and despite the lack of heat, it was a packed and festive atmosphere. Head Coach Troy Lesesne stopped by early and took a turn at Cesar's grill before heading off to his coaching duties at Audi (see photo above). Thank you Troy!!!
DC's starting lineup was:
Kim Joon-Hong in goal
David Schnegg, Kye Rowles, Lucas Bartlett, Aaron Herrera on defense
Boris Enow, Brandon Servania, Jacob Murrell, Hosei Kijima, Gabriel Pirani in midfield
Christian Benteke at forward.
Subs: Derek Dodson for Murrell (70th), Randall Leal for Pirani (70th), Dominique Badji for Servania (80th)
DC dodged a bullet in the first minute when Boris Enow tangled with a Toronto player in the box, but no penalty was called and the VAR upheld the no-call. Enow stole a Toronto pass at the other end in the 8th minute and weaved past a defender to score, making it 1-0 for DC.
Toronto equalized in the 27th minute when a cross eluded Kim (who looked quite rough early but made some good saves later) and Herrera cleared the ball right to Jonathan Osorio, who reflex-volleyed the shot into the net. DC regained the lead in the 35th minute when Bartlett hit a long ball to Murrell on the right side. Murrell raced down to the outside of the penalty area and hit a beautiful cross to Benteke, who hammered a header home. It was 2-1 at the half.
Toronto got what I considered a soft penalty midway through the second half, as DC's Servania and Toronto's Richie Laryea went for a ball and Laryea went down at the top of the box. It looked like a 50-50 situation to me. In any case, Federico Bernardeschi sent Kim the wrong way and equalized (2-2) from the penalty spot. The game ended 2-2.
Interesting note: We have a true world team. with players from North America (Bartlett, Murrell, Herrera, Servania), South America (Pirani), Europe (Benteke, Schnegg), Asia (Kim, Kijimia), Africa (Enow) and Australia (Rowles). And that's just Saturday's starters! All we need now is a penguin from Antarctica (who would never get called for a handball).
Continuing personnel moves: midfielder Rida Zouhir (Canadian, 21) was signed (it was talked about a few weeks ago), as well as homegrown midfielder Gavin Turner (from the DC United Academy, 18).
Fidel Barajas (18, born in the US but played for the Mexican U-17 national team) may be obtained on loan from the Mexican club Chivas but that is not official. GM Ally Mackay is certainly practicing his preference for young players.
Next game: at Chicago, Saturday March 1, 830pm Eastern.
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