D.C. United to sign Barajas on loan, updated Spirit roster, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! D.C. United and DC Power FC both return this weekend, and I am thinking about going to the United game, since it’s the only home match before Washington Spirit start back up. Should I be concerned about the cold, though.
Regardless, D.C. United made a flurry of announcements yesterday, so there should be plenty to discuss before game time.
DC United agree deal to sign Fidel Barajas from Chivas: Sources (Give Me Sport)
Fidel Barajas will be loaned to the Black-and-Red until the summer, but this article says the parties are open to renegotiating or making it permanent if things work out.
The team also announced a trade:
Seems like a good deal (for D.C.) to me!
There was also a fair amount of news out of Troy Lesesne’s press conference yesterday:
Washington Spirit announces updated 2025 preseason roster (Washington Spirit)
Washington have invited eight non-roster invitees to join them in preseason training camp. The roster’s pretty full at this point, but they may have a need for an injury-replacement player or two as they work on getting the squad back to health. Final rosters will come out shortly before the season begins in March.
D.C. United extends partnership with iHeartMedia Washington D.C. to deliver local radio broadcasts for the 2025 MLS Season (D.C. United)
Dave Johnson and Bruce Murray will continue to call D.C. United games for radio.
USWNT vs. Colombia player ratings: Yohannes, Macario, Sentnor shine in win (Pro Soccer Wire)
Player ratings after a pretty fun USWNT game against Colombia last night. Personally, I think they were a little hard on Tara McKeown.
Five players called up to national teams (DC Power FC)
A good look for the USL Super League! The player call-ups are: Katrina Guillou (Philippines), Jennifer Cudjoe (Ghana), Claire Constant (Haiti), Charlie Estcourt (Wales) and Loza Abera (Ethiopia). It sounds like they will miss this weekend’s Power match.
The trailer for Amazon Prime’s new NWSL documentary is out and honestly getting me excited to watch. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on Spirit players.
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend. Local soccer is back!!
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Glory DC vs. San Diego Legion | Sat., Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. ET | Boyds, MD | ESPN+, MNMT |
| D.C. United vs. Toronto FC | Sat., Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Washington DC | Apple TV |
| DC Power FC vs. Carolina Ascent FC | Sun., Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. ET | Charlotte, NC | Peacock |
I’ve seen plenty of comments on Sentnor’s screamer, but I think the difference between knowing and not knowing the game is who you’re talking about after this. If you know, you’re talking about Lily Yohannes and her extraordinary skillset, IQ, and grace. It’s several hours later, still reeling from both subtle and overt moments of brilliance from her.
Also worth mentioning, if the game class for a breakup of the triple espresso and a false nine, Macario is hopefully healthy, because she’s incredibly good at it. Goal aside, amazing ability to roll contact on the dribble and find the space beyond.
Mckeown had a few hiccups, but Hayes has to have her on the chart based on how composed and effective she was with her feet and passing into space. So, good on her.
Ajax is doing her well. Her auntie is my bank manager, very proud she is indeed.
I agree with everything you said. To me, Yohannes is the player to be excited from this match. It’s been a while since the USWNT Midfield outplayed the midfield of a good team and this was a good night for the US midfield. Yohannes offered the passing of LaVelle in her prime and better vision. If she stays healthy and continues to progress, I think she and Bethune are battling for the starting role for the US and probably costing LaVelle a roster spot for the World Cup.
Triple Espresso deserved all the kudos they got at the Olympics. But I’m going to be shocked if those three are the starting frontline for the USWNT in the World Cup. And yes, Macario impressed.
I too think that Hayes has to rate McKeown highly. She wants to CBs that can play the ball out of the back and McKeown is that.
DC have made the homegrown signing of Gavin Turner official
First homegrown signing since Aug. 31, 2022 (Matai Akinmboni). Congratulations Gavin, and looking forward to watching your career!
So, I’m sorta ignorant of what Toronto have been up to and how they’re constituted this time around. Any tips from those who are more holistic about their MLS intake?
They’re locked into their DPs, but Lorenzo Insigne didn’t play in any of their preseason games, and may not play tomorrow. Sounds like it could be the Ravel Morrison deal, where he’s on the team but not on the roster, y’know?
Weird stuff always happens in Toronto games, but at home, we should be winning this one.
I’ll second Brendan’s assessment. I don’t follow Toronto super closely, but from what I’ve gathered, I think they’ll be slightly better this year, but they still seem like a mess. I think they’re capable of being pretty decent in flashes, but I don’t think they’ll be consistent. And Insigne is still a problem
Interesting, thanks Brendan and Sweetbuck! I have to say, I was wildly wrong thinking Insigne would be a massive, consistent impact in the league. He’s a loose cannon, for sure
He does a lot to make Ally and Troy’s commitment to institutional “fit” look a lot better.
It anyone deserves a 2-season mulligan for rebuilding a team, it would have to be Fraser or whoever’s running TFC. But I think they’re going to just fire him once their bad contracts run out and they aren’t immediately good again.
Given that, I think we need six points from TFC to consider making the playoffs, which makes this a critical match at the opener.
Rida Zouhir’s signing is now official. I’m actually really intrigued by what he can do. I’m also very interested in what the international slot situation is looking like.
Well, he’s got one.
With Barajas loan, 14 of 27 on roster are new this season. I have faith in Troy Lesesne and Ally Mackay. I expect making the playoffs.
I expect a just miss on the playoffs but not a wooden spoon. My normal policy is assume the worst that way you’re pleasantly surprised when the worst doesn’t happen, so I’m breaking with my norm.
As down as I am on the talent gulf between us and much of the league, I fully expect just about every player to buy into the team ethos. I really don’t foresee the type of despair we witnessed under Losada/Ashton/Rooney returning.
This will very much be Ally and Troy’s team. The only holdovers are Jackson Hopkins and Christian Benteke (and Ally gave Benteke an extension). They have a pretty clear philosophy about style of play and profile of players that they want. It’s time for them to prove it on the field.
Old Glory is on a bye this week. We don’t play the San Diego Legion till March 1.
There’s an uneven number of teams in the league this year, so one team will always be on a bye.
I got my dates messed up!
Goff untangles the international player outlook!
With Zouhir in the fold, there are 9 international players and 7 slots. United had traded one of their international slots to RSL for $185,000.
Well, it turns out that Lukas MacNaughton’s green card hasn’t come through yet (don’t know if this can be pinned entirely on DOGE, but I’m willing to try), so the club traded $250,000 for an international roster slot from Montreal.
So MacNaughton can play this weekend, but Zouhir can’t. Once MacNaughton does get his green card, then that slot that he’s using can be used by Zouhir.
We tend to like Ally Mackay around here, but it seems like he got kind of hosed with this one. Trade a superfluous roster slot (knowing he’d probably need it back in the summer), then trade Ku-DiPietro, only have a Canadian trialist in camp for that position, trade for an international slot, come out down $65,000 in the International Roster Slot Game.
I miss the days of DC and Portland trading an international spot back and forth every year
Gambled and lost on having the appropriate number of slots at the start of the season. Shame that red tape is what cost the team a but of money, but it’s not that dire at the end of the day (until it continues happening).
Definitely hosed on the amount — really don’t get why they sold the slot to RSL in the first place. Also, even when they can get Zouhir in the roster, he’s got to be a big step down from Ku-Dipietro. Hopefully, they make full use of the money they got for TKDP, but some of it may have gone to getting this international slot.
The internet is rife with a lot of poor information — wikipedia claims MacNaughton was born in NYC, and moved to Belgium at age 7, His Nashville FC page says “Birthplace: Brussels, NY, Belgium”
I think you might be misreading what Goff wrote. He said Zouhir isn’t eligible now because of visa issues, not because the team wouldn’t be roster-compliant with him. He added that when MacNaughton gets his green card, the team will have a slot to use for a future move…not to add Zouhir.
I don’t understand it myself, because it does appear that they have 9 internationals, but maybe there’s something we don’t know. (Benteke, Enow, Joon-Hong, MacNaughton, Peglow, Peltola, Rowles, Schnegg, Zouhir). Who doesn’t need a slot? Benteke, Peltola?
Goff has replied with the information that Zouhir will count as a domestic player, because he came through an MLS academy.