2003 D.C. United season

D.C. United
2003 season
OwnerD.C. United Holdings
Head coachRay Hudson
MLS7th
MLS CupConference Semifinals
U.S. Open CupSemifinals
Atlantic CupRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague:
All: Kovalenko
Etcheverry (06)
← 2002
2004 →

The 2003 D.C. United season was the clubs' ninth year of existence, as well as their seventh season in Major League Soccer.

Led by Ray Hudson, D.C. United's 2003 campaign was highlighted by the club's return to the MLS Cup Playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 1999. In the playoffs, United who didn't qualify for the playoffs until the final day of the regular season, took on the Eastern Conference regular season champions, Chicago Fire. The Fire defeated United 4–0 on aggregates in the conference semifinals, winning each leg by a 2–0 margin of victory.

Background[edit]

Review[edit]

April[edit]

May[edit]

June[edit]

July[edit]

August[edit]

September[edit]

October[edit]

November[edit]

On November 1, 2003, D.C. United played their first playoff match in nearly four years, entering the 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. In the Conference semifinals, United faced the Eastern Conference regular season champions, Chicago Fire. The two-match, aggregate series was first contested at United's RFK Stadium. The match ended in a 2–0 defeat thanks to goals from the Fire's Andy Williams and Ante Razov in the 4th and 94th minutes, respectively.[1]

A week later, on November 9, 2003, the second leg was played at Chicago Fire's Soldier Field, where the Fire defeated United by the same 2–0 scoreline, thus ultimately winning the series 4–0 on aggregate, and advancing to the Eastern Conference championship. The defeat ended United's playoff campaign and their season altogether.

Non-competitive[edit]

Preseason exhibitions[edit]

February 14, 2003 D.C. United United States 2–1 Canada Canada U20 Boca Raton, Florida
Stoitchkov 18' (pen.), 35' (pen.)
Kovalenko Yellow card 21' Yellow-red card 50'		 Report Hume 47' Stadium: Bobby Campbell Stadium
February 16, 2003 Lynn Fighting Knights 0–3 D.C. United Boca Raton, Florida
2:30 p.m. Report Gomez 35'
Mediros 61', 83'		 Stadium: Bobby Campbell Stadium
February 18, 2003 FIU Panthers 0–3 D.C. United Miami, Florida
Report Petke 14'
Kovalenko 26'
Stoitchkov 49'		 Stadium: FIU Soccer Stadium
Attendance: 817
February 20, 2003 Florida Atlantic Owls 3–5 D.C. United Boca Raton, Florida
Totland 26'
Garbee 75'
Baum 86'		 Report Ivanov 32'
Etcheverry 44'
Eskandarian 54'
Olsen 57'
Quintanilla 90+1'		 Stadium: FAU Soccer Stadium

Midseason exhibitions[edit]

May 14, 2003 D.C. United United States 1–0 England Tottenham Hotspur Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. Carr 30' (o.g.)
Stoitchkov Yellow card 67'		 Report Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 14,028
Referee: Kevin Terry
July 23, 2003 D.C. United United States 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(6–5 p)		 England Blackburn Rovers Washington, D.C.
7:00 p.m. Carroll 85' Report Taylor Yellow card 16'
Cole 30'
Neill Yellow card 90+2'		 Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 9,452
Referee: Ali Saheli
Penalties
Carroll soccer ball with check mark
Etcheverry soccer ball with check mark
Curtis soccer ball with check mark
Quintanilla soccer ball with check mark
Olsen soccer ball with check mark
Prideaux soccer ball with red X
Kovalenko soccer ball with check mark		 soccer ball with check mark Saunders
soccer ball with check mark Ostenstad
soccer ball with check mark Danns
soccer ball with check mark Taylor
soccer ball with check mark Gallagher
soccer ball with red X Todd
soccer ball with red X Johansson
August 31, 2003 D.C. United United States 3–1 El Salvador El Salvador Washington, D.C.
7:30 p.m. Stewart 24', 50'
Etcheverry 39'
Olsen Yellow card 62'
Geddes Yellow card 85'		 Report Pacheco 6'
Velásquez Yellow card 20'
Meraz 73'		 Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 23,269
Referee: Michael Kennedy

Competitive[edit]

Overall[edit]

Major League Soccer[edit]

Main article: 2003 Major League Soccer season

Standings[edit]

Eastern Conference
Pos Club GP W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Chicago Fire (E1) (SS) 30 15 7 8 53 43 10 53 Supporters' Shield, 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
2 New England Revolution 30 12 9 9 55 47 8 45 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
3 MetroStars 30 11 10 9 40 40 0 42
4 D.C. United 30 10 11 9 38 36 2 39
5 Columbus Crew 30 10 12 8 44 44 0 38
Overall table
Pos Club GP W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Chicago Fire (E1) (SS) 30 15 7 8 53 43 10 53 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
2 San Jose Earthquakes (W1) 30 14 7 9 45 35 10 51
3 New England Revolution 30 12 9 9 55 47 8 45 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
4 Kansas City Wizards 30 11 10 9 48 44 4 42
5 MetroStars 30 11 10 9 40 40 0 42
6 Colorado Rapids 30 11 12 7 40 45 -5 40
7 D.C. United 30 10 11 9 38 36 2 39
8 Columbus Crew 30 10 12 8 44 44 0 38
9 Los Angeles Galaxy 30 9 12 9 35 35 0 36 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
10 Dallas Burn 30 6 19 5 35 64 -29 23

Results summary[edit]

Results by round[edit]

Match results[edit]

April 12, 2003 1 Kansas City Wizards 3–2 (a.e.t.) D.C. United Kansas City, Missouri
16:00 ET Preki 3'
Klein 61'
Brown gold-colored soccer ball 92' 		Report Petke 36'
Quaranta 46'		 Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium
April 19, 2003 2 D.C. United 0–0 (a.e.t.) Chicago Fire Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET Report Stadium: RFK Stadium
April 26, 2003 3 Colorado Rapids 1–1 (a.e.t.) D.C. United Denver, Colorado
17:00 ET Spencer 24' (pen.) Report Etcheverry 7' Stadium: Invesco Field
May 3, 2003 4 D.C. United 0–0 (a.e.t.) Dallas Burn Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET Report Stadium: RFK Stadium
May 10, 2003 5 MetroStars 1–0 D.C. United East Rutherford, New Jersey
15:30 ET Mathis Report Stadium: Giants Stadium
May 17, 2003 6 D.C. United 1–1 Kansas City Wizards Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET Report Stadium: RFK Stadium
May 31, 2003 7 Dallas Burn 3–2 D.C. United Southlake, Texas
15:30 ET Report Stadium: Dragon Stadium
June 7, 2003 8 D.C. United 2–0 Chicago Fire Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET Stadium: RFK Stadium
June 11, 2003 9 Colorado Rapids 0–0 (a.e.t.) D.C. United Denver, Colorado
17:30 ET Stadium: Invesco Field
June 14, 2003 10 D.C. United 3–0 Columbus Crew Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET Stadium: RFK Stadium
June 21, 2003 11 D.C. United 1–1 New England Revolution Washington, D.C.
15:30 ET Stadium: RFK Stadium
June 28, 2003 12 Columbus Crew 3–0 D.C. United Columbus, Ohio
15:30 ET Stadium: Crew Stadium
July 2, 2003 13 Dallas Burn 1–3 D.C. United Southlake, Texas
17:00 ET Stadium: Dragon Stadium
July 5, 2003 14 D.C. United 2–3 MetroStars Washington, D.C.
12:00 ET Stadium: RFK Stadium
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MLS Cup Playoffs[edit]

Main article: 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs
November 1, 2003 Conf. SF D.C. United 0–2 Chicago Fire Washington, D.C. United States
Report Williams 4'
Razov 94'		 Stadium: RFK Stadium
Attendance: 15,202
Referee: George Gansner
November 9, 2003 Conf. SF Chicago Fire 2–0
(4–0 agg.)		 D.C. United Chicago United States
Report Stadium: Soldier Field
Attendance: 15,312

U.S. Open Cup[edit]

Main article: 2003 U.S. Open Cup
July 16, 2003 Third round D.C. United Washington, D.C. 2–1 Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Riverhounds Germantown, Maryland
Petke 33'
Kovalenko 44'		 Report Wright Yellow card 37'
Tripoli Yellow card 41'
Villar Yellow card 59'
Martins 74'
Chulis Yellow card 83'		 Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
Attendance: 3,073
Referee: Hector Tobon
August 6, 2003 Fourth round D.C. United Washington, D.C. 1–0 (a.e.t.) Virginia Virginia Beach Mariners Germantown, Maryland
Petke Yellow card 13'
Quintanilla Yellow card 23'
Eskandarian Yellow card 57'
Stokes Yellow card 90'
Stoitchkov gold-colored soccer ball 97' 		Report Lassiter Yellow card 12'
Washington Yellow card 15'
Bilyk Yellow card 21'		 Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
Attendance: 2,870
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja
August 27, 2003 Quarterfinals Wilmington Hammerheads North Carolina 0–1 Washington, D.C. D.C. United Wilmington, North Carolina
Zarate Yellow card 55' Report Cerritos 30' Stadium: Legion Field
Attendance: 5,016
Referee: Gus St. Silva
October 1, 2003 Semifinals MetroStars New Jersey 3–2 Washington, D.C. D.C. United Piscataway, New Jersey
Guevara 20', 43'
Wolyniec 88'		 Report Ivanov 18'
Warren Red card 59'
Cerritos 76'		 Stadium: Yurcak Field
Attendance: 3,791
Referee: Terry Vaughn

Club[edit]

Statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals[edit]

Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.

No. Pos Nat Player Total MLS MLS Cup US Open Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK United States USA Doug Warren 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
2 DF United States USA David Stokes 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
3 DF Bulgaria BUL Galin Ivanov 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
4 DF United States USA Brandon Prideaux 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
5 DF Honduras HON Milton Reyes 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
7 DF New Zealand NZL Ryan Nelsen 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
8 FW Bulgaria BUL Hristo Stoitchkov 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
9 FW United States USA Earnie Stewart 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
10 MF Bolivia BOL Marco Etcheverry 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
11 FW United States USA Alecko Eskandarian 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
12 DF United States USA Mike Petke 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
13 MF Peru PER Jose Alegria 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
14 MF United States USA Ben Olsen 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
15 MF United States USA Bobby Convey 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
16 MF United States USA Brian Carroll 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
18 GK United States USA Nick Rimando 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
19 FW United States USA Devin Barclay 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
20 FW El Salvador SLV Eliseo Quintanilla 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
21 MF Ukraine UKR Dema Kovalenko 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
24 MF United States USA Trevor Perea 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
25 FW United States USA Santino Quaranta 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
26 MF United States USA Bryan Namoff 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
27 FW El Salvador SLV Ronald Cerritos 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
28 GK United States USA Clint Baumstark 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
29 FW Brazil BRA Thiago Martins 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0
  • Last updated: November 1, 2003
  • Source: Soccerway

Transfers[edit]

MLS SuperDraft picks[edit]

Main article: 2003 MLS SuperDraft

D.C. United made a total of seven selections in the 2003 MLS Draft. Five of the draft picks were ultimately signed for the 2003 season.

2003 D.C. United SuperDraft Picks
Round Selection Player Position College Status
1 1 United States Alecko Eskandarian FW Virginia Signed to first team
1 5 United States David Stokes DF North Carolina Signed to first team
2 11 United States Brian Carroll MF Wake Forest Signed with first team
2 14 United States Doug Warren GK Clemson Signed with first team
4 31 United States Hayden Woodworth MF Messiah Did not sign
5 41 United States John Swann DF Indiana Did not sign
6 51 United States Michael Behonick GK American Signed with first team

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Recap: Chicago Fire 2, D.C. United 0". MLSnet.com. DCUnited.com. November 1, 2003. Archived from the original on March 26, 2004. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
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