Since the trade, one that ended a seven-year tenure with D.C. United, Chris Pontius has preserved ties with Washington. The ride down I-95 is quick and easy, allowing for visits with his girlfriend and, when their schedules allow it, golf with former teammates Steve Birnbaum, Davy Arnaud and Taylor Kemp.
The off-field routine offers comfort, Pontius says. The on-field routine was what needed to change. And so when United’s season ended last fall, a fourth straight campaign interrupted by injuries, D.C.’s longest-serving player sought a fresh start.
United obliged, dealing him to the Philadelphia Union for a package of financial considerations.