Rodman injury update, D.C. United sign new homegrown player, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
It’s Friday!! After a week that saw me walking all over the city with work and evening activities, I am looking forward to a day at home today before heading back down to Buzzard Point for tomorrow’s Spirit game. It’s the final regular season home game, so I encourage all of you to come to the game too!
And if you’re looking for something else to do this weekend, our own Dennis Nolasco recommends Red Pitch at the Olney Theatre, a play about three South London boys growing up and trying to become professional soccer players.
Trinity Rodman to miss USWNT camp with injury, hopeful for return before end of NWSL season (The Athletic $)
Fans were fearing the worst after Rodman had to be carried off the field in the first half of Wednesday’s game against Rayadas, but thankfully it sounds like her knee injury may be short-term.
D.C. United Signs 15-Year-Old Forward Oscar Avilez as a Homegrown Player (D.C. United)
Avilez is FIFTEEN and signing a pro contract, potentially until he’s 20! I know that’s fairly common, but it feels crazy to me. Let’s hope DC is committed to supporting his development and helping him build a strong career.
Washington Spirit Defender Kysha Sylla Called Up to France Women’s National Team (Washington Spirit)
Adding to the list of Spirit national team players is Kysha Sylla, who earned her first call-up with the French senior team. Sylla has really grown over the course of her loan to Washington this year, so I love to see this for her (and wouldn’t hate that loan being made permanent).
Congratulations to one half of my favorite soccer power couple on 150 career appearances!
MLS NEXT Pro Announces 2025 Best XI and Individual Awards (MLS)
Why, yes, the top goalkeeper in our pathway to MLS is indeed 41 years old.
The MLS trophy nobody wants: How The Wooden Spoon came to be (ESPN)
Not a new article, but a timely one. Read about the history of the Wooden Spoon before this year’s “winner” is decided.
Finally, the schedule of events for the weekend. This week features D.C. United’s final game of the year and both women’s teams playing their second match of the week!
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride | Sat., Oct. 18 at 12 p.m. | Washington, DC | CBS |
| D.C. United vs. Atlanta United | Sat., Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. | Atlanta, GA | Apple TV |
| Loudoun United vs. Indy Eleven | Sat., Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. | Indianapolis, IN | ESPN+ |
| DC Power FC vs. Spokane Zephyr | Sun., Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. | Washington, DC | Peacock |
Have a good weekend!
Will be sad to miss the Spirit game, would have watched on Paramount+. I’ll be on the mall.
Great news (sort of) about Trin! Could have been worse. Glad it wasn’t.
I’ll be the supervising usher for a special concert at my church tomorrow evening, so will miss the DCU game. I’ll try to watch the Spirit game, though we’ll see what my 3 year old and 1 year old have to say about what’s on the tv.
I vote to rename it the “Levien-Kaplan Memorial Wooden Spoon Award” if we win it this year
Commentariat, please help me out. If we get the Wooden Spoon again, what is our new grand total?
Good question. Pretty sure 2010 and 2013 are the only other times, but could be forgetting a season somehow. It is really difficult to get that spoon.
Not as difficult as lifting MLS Cup and we have 4 of those.
All things possible through Marco Etcheverry
I need Brenden Cartwright for this. He is a Fact and Stat Guru.
Brenden, how many wooden spoons have we seized, and what will be the total if we seize it again? I’d like to go retroactive over the history of the club.
I want to make a fan shaped trophy, arranged like rowing crew oars (like in the Tombs, Georgetown). Bedecked with back and red iconography.
I did look into it for a bit, it seems that the only occasions were 2010, 2013, and 2022 to date. We’ll have to see if this is “our year” again soon.
Thanks for checking!
I was actually putting together a spreadsheet of this (so Mr. McEachern has nailed me precisely). The MLS website was only back to 2011, so I stopped there. We were tied with the Galaxy for the Wooden Spoon in 2017 as well, but had one more win than they did (though a worse goal difference). And I think we must have won one back in the early 2000s, like what enabled us to draft Freddy Adu or Alecko Eskandarian. So the list is incomplete, but I’m pretty sure we have at least four, and this would tie us with San Jose for most if we win our fifth this year.
This is where Wikipedia helps. DC United finished 10th in a 10-team league in 2002.
This isn’t accurate.
I suppose it depends on your definition, since the Wooden Spoon for MLS was invented in 2017 (and the first actual Spoon trophy debuted in 2017). So, 2010 and 2013 wouldn’t count, unless you are just asking about which seasons DC United finished last.
In 2000, DC United were last in the East, but San Jose was one point worse. In 2001, they were spared the ignominy of last in the East, because Tampa Bay was truly horrific — but the Mutiny didn’t return for 2022, and DC United were bottom in the East and bottom in MLS overall,
Despite finishing bottom in MLS, DC United hasn’t picked first in the draft since 2004, when they traded up to pick Freddy Adu. 2011 and 2014 were expansion years. so DC United didn’t even get the benefit of the top pick despite finishing at the bottom in 2010 and 2013.
After finishing bottom in 2022, DC United again had to wait to pick because htey had traded their first round pick to Orlando for Ruan. Did we screw up? The only players in the 2023 draft to really have an MLS career to speak of have been Duncan McGuire (6th), Patrick Agyemang (12th), and Max Arfsten (14th).
Last year we snagged Karamoko, who doesn’t seem likely to contribute, No one in that draft has had much impact, but a few have made some MLS appearances. 2024, when we got Murrell (7th) was a little better. Several players getting regular time.
Sorry — typo. Wooden Spoon in MLS first came to be in 2015.
Another typo — should read: but the Mutiny didn’t return for 2002, and DC United were bottom in the East and bottom in MLS overall,
Though Jaime is the only player to have been a major contributor on all four of those squads. El Diablo was not part of the 2004 title. Jaime was also part of all the sides that secured however many Shields we have, wasn’t he?
Yeah, I know Etcheverry wasn’t there in 04.
Yeah, I know you probably knew but this was just me giving Jaime his flowers because when all is said and done, he was/has been the best player we had in our history. Not the most talented, no, but the best. He is to us what Donovan is to the Galaxy, however, many other remarkable players they had in their history.
Shields, yes.
F1 announced their new US media rights deal today, and they’re switching to Apple. Its been interesting to see much of the reaction to this be along the lines of “wow this is bad, just look at what happened to MLS.” Though they’ll have the advantage of being included in the regular AppleTV+ package, and not locked behind their own subscription, so that may help them.
They have F1 the movie also coming to AppleTV+
US Soccer’s NextGen College Soccer Committee (NCSC) has a recommendation for how to change the NCAA soccer world.
https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2025/us-soccer-recommended-changes-ncaa-system-1234873833/
First paragraph, which kind of summarizes the piece:
Trinity has been diagnosed with a grade 1 MCL tear
Grade 1 is apparently the least severe level typified by 10% or less damage to the ligaments and a relatively stable knee, that’s the good news.
The bad news is this makes a recovery for the playoffs pretty much not in keeping with her long term health