Over the past four seasons, Audi Field has not been the most welcoming environment for DC United, with the Black and Red winning about 23% of their home matches during that time. One odd trend within that larger pattern, however, is DC United tends to perform well in their home openers. Going back to the start of the 2022 season, DCU is 3-1-0 in their first home match. Overall since DCU’s first full season in Audi Field, United is 5-1-1 in their openers.
DC United’s opponent for the home opener, the Philadelphia Union, entered on a streak of their own. Across all competitions, the Union had not lost to DCU 2021, nine games in all. Last season, Philadelphia out scored the Black and Red 9-0 in two matches. However, over the offseason both rosters underwent significant turnover, creating opportunity for a change in the narrative.
1st Half
The first 10 minutes set the tone for what would be a physical match between both teams. A pair of DC’s new acquisitions combined in the ninth minute to give the Audi Field faithful a bit of momentary joy. Keisuke Kurokawa streaked down the left hand side to pick up a through ball and his cross found former Union striker Tai Baribo, who put it into the net behind former teammate Andre Blake. Kurokawa, however, started his run too early and the goal was called back due to offsides.
Both teams, continued to battle it out, mostly in the midfield following the nongoal. Roughly eight minutes after his goal was called back, Baribo and United may have been the beneficiaries of a gift from the referees. While battling against Union defender Japhet Sery Larsen, Baribo struck Sery Larsen with his elbow. However, no card was show for the contact.
Philadelphia threatened in the 22nd minute when they earned their first corner of the match. DC United managed to clear the corner. Jackson Hopkins intercepted the attempt and hit Gabriel Pirani around midfield with an outlet pass. João Peglow picked up the ball from Pirani and found Baribo with a cross and he once again put it in the back of the net. This time it counted and gave the Black and Red a 1-0 lead.
As the game approached the end of the first half, DC put Philadelphia under pressure. Union defender Olwethu Makhanya earned a yellow for taking down Pirani after he blew past him. Four minutes later, Union midfielder Jesús Bueno earned a yellow for a late foul on Baribo. The ensuing free kick found Hopkins in the box. A Hopkins pass to Baribo in the middle lead to a shot that beat Blake but hit the post.
At the end of the first half, United out possessed the Union 54.6% to 45.4% and had a better passing accuracy (74.5 to 72).
2nd Half
The start of the second half saw the Union with more possession and more opportunities. The complexion of the game, however, changed completely in the 59th minute when Ezekiel Alladoh received a straight red card following a foul on Lukas Bartlett, forcing Philadelphia to play down a man for the final thirty minutes. Apple’s broadcast indicated the red was for dissent, but later reports suggested Alladoh may have made an obscene comment to Bartlett. Despite the red, Philadelphia continued to exert pressure on DCU and find opportunities on net.
Despite the Union’s resurgence in the second half, Baribo continued to find himself in dangerous spots for DCU. He had United’s best opportunity of the second half, when in the 65th minute a Peglow cross found him alone inside the 18. His shot, however, failed him and sliced right.
Seven minutes later, the Union had a good opportunity to tie the match up. A Cavan Sullivan corner found Nathan Harriel in the center of the box, but his header went wide. Following the wayward header, the Union kept the Black and Red on the back foot with United at times struggled to break the pressure. In the 76th minute, Kurakowa exhibited his full range of skills in a sequence where he blocked a shot, intercepted another ball and then flew down the wing, alleviating the pressure for a bit. New goalkeeper Sean Johnson had a relatively low key night, but was called on to make a save in extra time to preserve the shutout, preserve DCU’s home opener streak, and break United’s nightmare winless streak against the Union.
Of potential concern for United, Baribo hobbled off in extra time. However, Jason Anderson reported after the game, United manager René Weiler seemed to think Baribo may have just suffered a cramp.
DC United Lineup
Johnson; Hefti, Rowles, Bartlett (C), Kurokawa; Hopkins (Markovic – 89th), Peltola, Servania, Peglow: Pirani (Munteanu -70th) , Baribo (Nealis – 90th)
Philadelphia Union Lineup
Blake; Sundstrom (Martinez – 46th), Sery Larsen, Mahhanya, Harriel; Vassilev (Bedoya – 79th), Bueno (Anello – 57th), Jacques, Iloski (Sullivan -70th); Alladoh, Damiani (Korzeniowski – 79th)
Cards
DC United – Yellow: Hopkins (89th), Peglow (90th)
Philadelphia Union: Yellow: Makhanya (41st), Bueno, (45th), Sery Larsen (80th), Jacques (88th)
Red: Alladoh (59th)
Next Match: 3/1 at Austin FC at 2:30 ET.
It doesn’t feel to me like Philly brought their A game, but whatevs… we were the better team on the night and deserved the points. That’s a lot of progress.
For me, the best takeaway was how much Peltola has improved in all areas in the last year. This was a confident and consistent two-way performance, controlling space, breaking up combinations, and quickly progressing the ball productively whenever possible. If he can do this repeatedly, that’s an MLS starter and we can cross one worry position off the list.
Hopkins showed a lot of good stuff, too; I still think he’ll do better in the middle of the field than out wide, and lordy but he needs to steady his temper… the latter is of course pretty common for 21 year olds, natch.
Baribo was as advertised, which is a very good thing. Hefti and Kurokawa looked the part. Sean Johnson did his job as you would expect.
Munteanu had been on for all of two or three minutes before I concluded that I can’t conclude anything about his game right now. His head was so swiveled it would make an owl blush. He got a bit more into the flow after 5-10 minutes, but the primary impression remains that he’s not going to “settle” quickly, if at all. He’ll need to settle in, because he isn’t going to dominate on raw athleticism. It’ll go badly for Weiler/Sogut if they’ve shot their wad bringing in a player who needs a detailed tactical structure when the rest of the team is playing on general principles and reading the room.
We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, without a third DP the early season will be a rough ride… the feeling you were feeling when Baribo limped off is what you naturally feel when your squad is paper thin. But, baby steps.
I’m so damaged I assumed from the 50th minute on the 1st and & 2nd Philly goals were coming.
There’s some concern about the expected goals situation and some of the underlying numbers, but, sitting in the stadium, I quite liked the style of play.
It reminded me of a solid boxer who can get some good shots in, but if things get messy will wrap up their opponent and get the push off, reset. There’s power in being able to get back into your shape, protect yourself, move as one, and say “make us.”
That’s the foundation, but there was also some exceptional interplay in the middle, especially. They were finding each other with short passes and not allowing themselves to be swarmed easily, which then allowed someone to pick out a wide option in space when the opposition crowded in trying to end the buildup.
Peltola was MOTM. A very good CM showing in the 4-4-2, but his passing was class- he’s basically our playmaker without having to do reckless advanced play.
This could work.
Or it could have, if for one thing I’ll talk about next.
I share in your analysis and cautious optimism. As PJ noted, we tend to win opening day.
In men’s college soccer, there are a number of foreign players who come here to get an education while making use of their experiences being trained abroad. It’s a solid tradeoff for them, but part of it is that, without green card status, their play in college will almost certainly never translate to becoming an MLS draft pick. The league is good enough that teams are going to look to fill those spots in the transfer market, and enough of those spots will be held for DP acquisition that a college talent that could contribute has no shot.
Luis Munteanu isn’t even that level.
It’s not too soon. This guy is someone’s cousin. This is already a scandal.
Oh, but Talonesque, it’s just his first appearance, maybe he’s just taking time to bed in, I get that is something one could say in a normal situation. This is not.
Him not starting was an eyebrow- raising red flag, but I conjectured there was a slim chance that Weiler simply wanted a super sub, somewhere big to go off the bench.
I was placed pretty ideally in the stadium seating to see Louis’ minutes. He was playing closer to my side, I was in the middle of the end Philly were defending the second half. I watched closely.
I was immediately surprised by the lack of athleticism, quickness, or power, but, soccer is a game where varied talents, styles, and physical characteristics can be housed- Iniesta is one of the most incredible midfielders of all time, and his top speed was maybe even below average for the global game. So, I waited for the nuanced quality to be revealed.
His touches made me say “what?” in my head. Not in a good way.
Decision making? His one shot was an incredibly poor decision. Side netting, but shooting from that angle, from that distance, all on the ground toward the near post, there was zero chance the goalie was getting beat. It was a moment of failed understanding of the game that made my jaw drop.
He was generally where he should have been in terms of positioning, but the 50/50s that a DP wins, none were.
Jacob Murrell has never been this bad off the bench. Drew Skundrich was never this ineffective. Rod Dyachenko never played this number of minutes without doing something alright.
We had chances that, had Louis been quality, a goal would have occurred.
We spent 7 million on a 23 year old that I’m pretty sure that, had he played in the US college system, would not have been drafted. Might not have started for a solid program.
This signing is a scandal. Best case scenario, definitive scouting failure. Might actually be something more shady.
No wonder Cluj said, holy moly, let’s make up another one and see what happens! They fleeced us incredibly badly, or this was a way to give someone who shouldn’t have gotten it Levien’s money.
This is going to hold us back more than anything.
Side note- quite strange that Caden Clark didn’t feature.
Louis is a foreign player in a new league, a new country, and a new team. I expect there to be some adjustment. He is also young. Even so, coach saw DP quality for some reason. I think its a gamble. Its only been one game, but I hope this works out because we don’t want to be a one striker attack again like we had with Benteke. We couldn’t get enough goals that way to win win games.
I didn’t see a single thing that makes me think there’s something to unearth.
Think he’s just real bad.
That would suck, because with a man up our side couldn’t get another goal. We need some other people to score.
Not starting was telling. I figured he had a knock. It’s early, but I would not be surprised if he is someone’s cousin. This would be a colossal blunder if he truly this bad. Hope it’s just new jitters and adapting.
It’s just game 1 and he came in late in the game… let’s hold on to the bad comments and maybe stay positive and celebrate our 1st win…
I was really happy to see DC play with such a collective discipline, team spirit, and show some problem solving and connectivity while protecting themselves at all times.
I had a good time at a United game for the first time in a long time. I’m grateful.
The Louis thing is the thing that lingers, unfortunately. It will be a story to see how this happened.
In reviewing the highlights, I also came away quite impressed with Peglow’s chance creation. Also, kudos to Pirani for the hold-up play on the Baribo goal. We’ve come to expect Pirani to produce a wonderful goal after we’ve gotten frustrated with him or show some nice skill now and then. But the hold-up effort was physical, it was giving up his body to maintain possession that someone else would benefit from. That is a different side from what we’ve previously seen from Pirani.
I was thinking exactly that re: Pirani. To me, this is the best playmaker moment he’s ever had with the team in the #10 sense.
Pirani also had a woonderful pass on the goal that was disallowed for Kurokawa’s offside. Didn’t he? I thought he did really well.
Both he and Peltola showed signs of improvement. I expected Hopkins’ progression, and it was nice to see.
Baribo and Kurokawa are legit. We haven’t had that kind of dynamic runner up front since Taxi. The left side had to be respected all evening, which kind of made it look like Philly were picking on Hefti. He seems about what the Hamburg fans on reddit said he’d be – good worker, but a little slow.
I was only able to watch the second half and, well, if you had told me Ben Olsen was still coaching I would have believed you. And I mean that in both the good and bad ways.
The team held the shape well and players were locked in but the subs were late and too defensive imo. Hopkins and Baribo should have both been taken out by minute 70 imo. Needed more speed on the right side than Hopkins can provide and Baribo was starting to run awkwardly. But Clark seems to not be rated at all by Weiler, Stroud is Stroud, and it probably wasn’t the right game state to throw Turner in on so hard to blame the coach too much. Our depth is definitely what will limit us this season.
But, as others have said, Peltola was phenomenal and the defense was well organized. Johnson adds stability we’ve definitely needed. If we get an upgrade on Servania (who was fine but has a limited toolbox) then we could surprise some people.
Surprise some people including us the fans.
There were too many close calls. DC United had dominated. Having gone up a man, they should’ve been able to put the game away. Instead, Philly came close to tying it up several times.
Baribo looked like a good danger man, and also a pretty good outlet option. Watching him hop off on one leg was concerning, but maybe it was just a cramp? There was a nice moment when he Tai and Louis worked a nice comb, but Louis couldn’t finish. Was surprised to see him on the bench to start, but Peglow was definitely more effective. I think in general, Louis and Hopkins showed nice ability on the ball, but both were too slow to pass. eventually dribbling into trouble. Jackson drew a few fouls, but he’s got to be looking to pass more quickly, Can’t dribble through the whole defense.
Other surprises? Nealis not starting, and not even coming in late. Murrell and Aman not even in the 18, but Turner was. I guess he’s farther down the depth chart than most expected. Also, Markovic coming on as a DM, rather than a CB, though he definitely played like a CB — lots fo hand-checking. Maybe also surprised that Peltola spent so much time joining the attack. Wasn’t impressive, but maybe he can grow into that.
Still, they won the opener. Again. We have to hope this wasn’t the high mark, as it has been in recent seasons..
Nealis did come in, after Markovic.
Weiler sensed some set piece trouble coming, and he was right. 4 CBs, Peltola, and Baribo defending those worked out.
Hmm. I missed that.
Yeah.
I don’t love that we bunkered so hard against 10 men, but I will say, subbing in two CBs is smarter than just one random, awkward third if that’s the decision.
I’ve seen so many teams fail when it’s just one, would never have occurred to me to dial it to 11. That’s why Weiler gets the big bucks… or whatever Levien offered him.
“What kind of amplifier stops at 10?”
Congrats to Tai Baribo for joining the likes of Brendan Hines-Ike, Mateusz Klich, and Michael Estrada as new offseason signings who score in their United debut.
One prediction I had was that Richie Aman was going to make his MLS debut before Nikola Markovic. As always, I know nothing.
Anyway, the real highlight was the surprise halftime show by what’s left of the SugarHill Gang.
TheOGs.
Some late waiver wire action. The Rapids waived Sam Vines and the Galaxy waived Christian Ramirez. I wouldn’t mind it if DC went after either one of them. Ramirez is a big center forward that has shown he can score all over the league. He would basically be filling Dominique Badji role, but hopefully more effectively. It would be a different look for the team to offer, and harken back to the Benteke days a bit.
Vines would be the more intriguing one. He’s a left back and still just 26. He has some European experience, and has gotten the occasional national team call up. Kurokawa has looked good so far, but we don’t have any other natural left backs on the team.
The smart money would indicate that neither of them are getting signed, especially with a fourth goalkeeper on the way. There aren’t very many roster spots left (especially without an MLS Next Pro team to loan some folks to), and we still need to sign a third DP. But it’s fun to dream.
If anyone is interested
DCU Fantasy Scores in Kickbase as of 2133 EST 2/22/2026
Forwards
Baribo 169
Peglow 165
Muntenau 29
Avilez 0
Karamoko 0
Murrel 0
Segal 0
Midfield
Peltola 122
Hopkins 90
Servania 63
Pirani 23
Aman 0
Clark 0
Kijima 0
Stroud 0
Turner 0
Defense
Kurokawa 127
Rowles 119
Bartlett 106
Hefit 88
Nealis 25
Markovic 21
Antley 0
Herrera 0
Tubbs 0
Goalies
Johnson 124
Bono 0
Farr 0