At the start of the 2017 season, few people would have figured on Kofi Opare being a regular starter by the end of the year. Ben Olsen had been experimenting with Sean Franklin as Steve Birnbaum’s center back partner, and Bobby Boswell was still on the team, so Opare looked to be fourth choice at best. It wasn’t long, however, before Opare moved up the depth chart. Franklin didn’t work out as a center back, opening the door for Boswell to move into the starting lineup on April 1st, and then a Birnbaum concussion a couple of weeks later opened the door for Opare to start on April 22nd.
D.C. United season review: Kofi Opare
